BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) to “Outperform”

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a C$70.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of C$68.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.73% from the company’s previous close.

L has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotia lowered their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$70.00 to C$64.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank downgraded Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$75.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$69.50.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of L opened at C$64.98 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$63.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$63.40. The firm has a market cap of C$75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.41. Loblaw Companies has a 1-year low of C$52.92 and a 1-year high of C$69.59.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 24.88% and a net margin of 4.29%.The firm had revenue of C$14.48 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 9.1225541 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nicholas Henn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction 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.

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. 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.