Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Given New C$156.00 Price Target at National Bankshares

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price objective increased by National Bankshares from C$153.00 to C$156.00 in a research note published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on L. Desjardins raised their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$133.00 to C$148.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$153.71.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$149.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of C$46.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12. Loblaw Companies has a 12 month low of C$110.52 and a 12 month high of C$154.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$146.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$131.14.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.92 by C$0.08. The firm had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.58 billion. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. On average, research analysts predict that Loblaw Companies will post 8.4881297 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.446 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 27.30%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. In related news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$1,500,000.00. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 13,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$145.84, for a total transaction of C$1,947,558.04. Insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163 over the last three months. 52.69% of the stock is 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.