Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Reaches New 52-Week High at $177.02

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$177.02 and last traded at C$176.95, with a volume of 42078 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$176.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. CIBC increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$176.43.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of C$53.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$169.08 and a 200-day moving average price of C$158.55.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.14 by C$0.01. The business had revenue of C$13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.07 billion. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 19.22%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 9.4554243 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 31.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. In related news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$156.01, for a total transaction of C$5,070,380.25. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,960 shares of company stock valued at $5,146,349. 53.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw Companies Limited, a food and pharmacy company, provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparels, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Retail and Financial Services. The Retail segment operates corporate and franchise-owned retail food, and associate-owned drug stores.