Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target Raised to C$72.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at National Bank Financial from C$70.00 to C$72.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, BayStreet reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.40% from the stock’s current price.

L has been the topic of a number of other reports. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Scotia lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD set a C$75.00 price target on shares of Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$71.67.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 1.1%

L stock traded down C$0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting C$68.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 492,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,328,347. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.15. Loblaw Companies has a 52-week low of C$54.44 and a 52-week high of C$70.23. The firm has a market capitalization of C$78.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$62.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$63.10.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$15.05 billion during the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 4.32%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David Markwell sold 56,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$62.07, for a total value of C$3,490,816.80. Also, insider Per Bank sold 39,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$62.01, for a total transaction of C$2,465,641.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 203,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$12,626,662.23. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold 324,121 shares of company stock worth $20,118,530 in the last ninety days. 53.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw is Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, and the nation’s largest retailer. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, financial services and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,800 corporate franchised and Associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees and Associate-owners employ more than 220,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada’s largest private sector employers. Loblaw’s purpose – Live Life Well® – puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the company’s stores.