Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) to Issue $0.51 Quarterly Dividend

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 14th, TickerTech Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.513 per share on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

TSE:L traded down C$3.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting C$183.26. 137,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,172. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$183.28 and a 200 day moving average of C$181.58. Loblaw Companies has a twelve month low of C$145.80 and a twelve month high of C$196.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of C$55.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction 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. Also, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total transaction of C$399,297.45. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,561 shares of company stock valued at $26,365,542. Insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on L. Scotiabank lowered shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$188.00 to C$195.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. 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. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$199.38.

About Loblaw Companies

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.