Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotia Analyst Says

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Scotia from C$64.00 to C$67.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotia’s target price suggests a potential upside of 0.77% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank downgraded Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$68.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Securities raised shares of Loblaw Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$71.00.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 1.2%

L stock traded up C$0.79 on Friday, reaching C$66.49. 347,725 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,336,291. Loblaw Companies has a one year low of C$52.92 and a one year high of C$69.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of C$77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$64.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$63.58.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.66 EPS for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 4.29%.The business had revenue of C$15.05 billion for the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$67.00, for a total value of C$670,000.00. Also, insider Melanie Singh sold 4,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total value of C$321,590.40. 53.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw is one of Canada’s largest grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise retailers, operating the most expansive store footprint in Ontario and maintaining sizable presences in provinces like Quebec and British Columbia. Key grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, while its pharmaceutical operations are the product of its 2014 acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart. The firm carries a robust private-label assortment, with top sellers like President’s Choice and No Name. In addition to its retail operations, Loblaw oversees a financial-services business, which provides credit card services and guaranteed investment certificates, and also operates its PC Optimum loyalty program.