Focus on lower prices will drive them higher

Article Excerpt

These two leading retailers continue to cut their selling prices. That continues to spur customer traffic and to lift their earnings. Moreover, both have long histories of annual dividend hikes. LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $181 is a buy. This retail giant (Toronto symbol L; Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 303.6 million; Market cap: $55.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.loblaw.ca) operates 1,113 supermarkets under several banners, including Loblaws, Zehrs, Provigo, Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills. It also operates 1,354 associate-owned Shoppers Drug Mart locations. With the July 2024, payment, Loblaw raised your quarterly dividend by 15.0%. The new annual rate of $2.052 a share yields 1.1%. The company has now increased the annual rate each year for the past 13 years. In response to higher food costs, many of Loblaw’s customers are switching to its discount-price chains. As a result, the company now plans to spend $1.8 billion (net of property disposals) on new stores and other improvements in 2024. In the…