National Bankshares Boosts Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target to C$188.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price target raised by National Bankshares from C$175.00 to C$188.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on L. TD Securities increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$178.29.

Loblaw Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

L stock opened at C$177.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of C$54.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a 52-week low of C$110.52 and a 52-week high of C$182.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$174.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$164.06.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$2.14 by C$0.01. The firm had revenue of C$13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.07 billion. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 19.22%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current year.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 31.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$48,884.02. In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$27,084.39. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 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 transaction of C$48,884.02. 53.77% 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.