Topic: How To Invest

LOBLAW COMPANIES $61.92 – Toronto symbol L

LOBLAW COMPANIES $61.92 (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 412.5 million; Market cap: $25.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.loblaw.ca) is Canada’s largest food retailer, with about 1,200 stores. Its banners include Loblaws, Provigo, Fortinos, Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills. George Weston Ltd. owns 46% of the company.

In the three months ended January 3, 2015, Loblaw’s sales jumped 49.4%, to $11.4 billion from $7.6 billion a year earlier. The gain was mainly due to the 1,300-store Shoppers Drug Mart chain, which the company bought in March 2014. Same-store sales rose 3.3% at Loblaw’s supermarkets and 3.8% at Shoppers.

Excluding integration costs and other unusual items, Loblaw’s earnings jumped 146.0%, to $396 million from $161 million. Per-share profits gained 68.4%, to $0.96 from $0.57, on more shares outstanding.

The addition of Shoppers Drug Mart should increase Loblaw’s earnings to $3.40 a share for all of 2015, and the stock trades at 18.2 times that estimate. The company’s 2016 earnings should reach $4.00 a share, and it trades at a more reasonable 15.5 times that forecast.

Loblaw is a buy.

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