Loblaw settles bread lawsuit

Article Excerpt

LOBLAW COMPANIES, $170.25, is a buy. The retailer (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 305.9 million; Market cap: $51.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.2%; www.loblaw.ca) and its parent company George Weston Ltd. (see page 62) have agreed to pay a total of $500 million to settle two class action lawsuits accusing them of fixing retail bread prices between 2001 and 2015. The company’s share of the settlement is $252.5 million. However, that amount includes the $96.0 million worth of gift cards it distributed to customers in 2018. As a result, the final charge is $156.5 million. Meanwhile, for all of 2024, Loblaw’s earnings will probably improve 10% to $8.51 a share, and the stock trades at a reasonable 20.0 times that estimate. As well, with the July 1, 2024, payment, Loblaw raised your quarterly dividend by 15.0%. Investors now receive $0.513 a share instead of $0.446. The new annual rate of $2.052 yields 1.2%. Loblaw Cos. is a buy. buy. …