Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$184.23 and traded as high as C$204.44. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$198.49, with a volume of 638,279 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities cut their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC increased their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$187.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$184.23. The stock has a market cap of C$60.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.513 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Loblaw Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total transaction of C$19,046,690.91. Also, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$2,109,706.39. In the last three months, insiders sold 141,456 shares of company stock valued at $25,966,244. Corporate insiders own 53.77% of the company’s stock.

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.