Desjardins Upgrades Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) to Buy

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) was upgraded by Desjardins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a C$67.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of C$62.00. Desjardins’ target price suggests a potential upside of 7.77% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$61.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$60.00 to C$61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$63.00 to C$65.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$57.50 to C$63.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$58.50 to C$67.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$113.50.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

TSE L opened at C$62.17 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$58.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$132.82. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$43.32 and a twelve month high of C$63.43. The stock has a market capitalization of C$73.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.29.

About Loblaw Companies

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.