Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$63.19 and traded as high as C$64.48. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$62.87, with a volume of 2,959,524 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on L. Scotiabank lowered shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Scotia cut their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$69.25.

Loblaw Companies Trading Down 2.3%

The stock has a market cap of C$73.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$62.87 and its 200 day moving average price is C$63.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 earnings per share 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$14.48 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Loblaw Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1552 per share. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were 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 Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$66.72, for a total transaction of C$321,590.40. Insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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. 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.