Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Director Richard Dufresne Sells 25,783 Shares

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Director Richard Dufresne sold 25,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$4,809,847.01.

Loblaw Companies Price Performance

Loblaw Companies stock opened at C$187.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$56.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies Limited has a 52 week low of C$141.59 and a 52 week high of C$196.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$183.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$181.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11.

Loblaw Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.513 dividend. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank downgraded shares of 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. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$199.38.

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.