Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Downgraded to Sector Perform Rating by Scotiabank

Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. Scotiabank currently has C$200.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$203.00 to C$202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group set a C$225.00 price objective on Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$189.00 to C$206.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$201.88.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$184.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$186.19 and a 200 day moving average of C$176.47. Loblaw Companies has a 52 week low of C$126.15 and a 52 week high of C$196.49. The company has a market cap of C$56.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total transaction of C$399,297.45. 53.77% of the stock is 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.