Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as C$181.99 and last traded at C$181.42, with a volume of 4589 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$180.47.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 31.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on L shares. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$157.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$160.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$171.00 to C$189.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$176.43.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$55.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$170.07 and a 200-day moving average of C$159.22.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported C$2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$2.14 by C$0.01. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of C$13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 9.4554243 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$48,884.02. In other news, Senior Officer Nicholas Henn sold 164 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total value of C$27,084.39. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.15, for a total transaction of C$48,884.02. Corporate insiders own 53.53% of the company’s stock.

About Loblaw Companies

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.