Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$63.48 and traded as high as C$65.44. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$64.97, with a volume of 846,945 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on L. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Loblaw Companies from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$68.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Scotia reduced their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$69.50.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$63.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$63.48. The stock has a market cap of C$75.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$14.48 billion for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 4.29%. On average, equities analysts expect that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 9.1225541 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.1552 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 24.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was 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 the business’s 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 value of C$321,590.40. 53.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.