This top grocer is a reliable dividend payer

Article Excerpt

Loblaw and other big grocers are under scrutiny for generating strong profits in the wake of the pandemic. Even through food price inflation is easing, its new stores and cost controls will continue to boost its earnings—and your dividend. LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $122 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol L; Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 321.1 million; Market cap: $39.2 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.loblaw.ca) operates 1,104 supermarkets under several banners, including Loblaws, Zehrs, Provigo, Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills. It also operates 1,344 associate-owned Shoppers Drug Mart locations. With the July 2023 payment, Loblaw raised your quarterly dividend by 10.1%. Investors now receive $0.446 a share instead of $0.405. The new annual rate of $1.784 yields 1.5%. The company has increased the annual rate each year for the past 12 years. Loblaw’s overall sales jumped 20.3%, from $46.69 billion in 2018 to $56.50 billion in 2022. That’s partly because the company raised its selling prices in response…