Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$177.14 and traded as high as C$178.64. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$177.62, with a volume of 310,818 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group set a C$225.00 price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank cut shares of Loblaw Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$172.00 to C$190.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$201.88.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$186.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$177.14. The company has a market cap of C$54.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 163.32, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.513 per share. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Loblaw Companies’s payout ratio is 31.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Loblaw Companies

In other news, Director Christie James Beckett Clark sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$189.69, for a total value of C$399,297.45. 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.