Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as C$155.01 and last traded at C$154.37, with a volume of 116577 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$152.84.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Loblaw Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is currently 27.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on L. Desjardins increased their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. CIBC cut their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$149.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$130.00 to C$145.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$153.00 to C$156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$170.00 to C$172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$155.32.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$149.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$133.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41. The firm has a market cap of C$47.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.12.

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported C$2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The company had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.58 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies Limited will post 8.4881297 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total value of C$2,487,450.00. In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$1,500,000.00. Also, Senior Officer Robert Wayne Wiebe sold 16,583 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$150.00, for a total transaction of C$2,487,450.00. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock worth $10,547,163. Corporate insiders own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw Companies Limited, a food and pharmacy company, provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparels, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Retail and Financial Services. The Retail segment operates corporate and franchise-owned retail food, and associate-owned drug stores.