Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$196.20 and last traded at C$195.60, with a volume of 207042 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$192.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank cut Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11. The company has a market capitalization of C$59.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$184.33 and a 200 day moving average of C$182.76.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$2,109,706.39. Also, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total value of C$19,046,690.91. In the last three months, insiders sold 141,456 shares of company stock valued at $25,966,244. Insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.