Brokerages Set Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Price Target at C$193.00

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$197.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on L. Desjardins lifted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group set a C$225.00 target price on shares of Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of L opened at C$191.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$182.34 and its 200-day moving average is C$173.24. 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$58.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a fifty-two week low of C$122.11 and a fifty-two week high of C$196.49.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total transaction of C$399,297.45. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.