Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Given New C$148.27 Price Target at Scotiabank

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price objective raised by Scotiabank from C$146.00 to C$148.27 in a report issued on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on L. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a report on Friday, February 23rd. CIBC cut their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$153.00 to C$156.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$133.00 to C$148.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$154.04.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

TSE:L opened at C$152.43 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$147.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$132.44. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$110.52 and a twelve month high of C$154.70. The company has a market capitalization of C$47.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12.

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

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.446 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$2,487,450.00. In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. Also, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$2,487,450.00. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163. Company insiders own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

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.