Scotiabank Increases Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Price Target to C$161.00

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) had its price target raised by analysts at Scotiabank from C$148.27 to C$161.00 in a report issued on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.18% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$148.00 to C$157.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$159.00 to C$171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$150.00 to C$160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$156.00 to C$159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$160.71.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Loblaw Companies stock traded up C$1.70 on Thursday, hitting C$154.54. 137,704 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 361,916. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.41, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.25. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$110.52 and a 1 year high of C$155.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$149.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$133.58. The stock has a market capitalization of C$47.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.92 by C$0.08. Loblaw Companies had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 3.53%. The company had revenue of C$14.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.58 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Loblaw Companies will post 8.4881297 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In related news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total transaction of C$662,832.00. In other news, Senior Officer Frank Gambioli sold 4,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$144.00, for a total value of C$662,832.00. Also, Senior Officer Jeffrey Francis Leger sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$147.50, for a total transaction of C$1,475,000.00. Insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,163 over the last quarter. 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.