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Loblaw Companies Ltd L

Morningstar Rating
CAD 152.37 −0.06 (0.04%)
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Company Report

Although Loblaw Strives to Elevate Its Brand Through Prudent Investments, a Moat Remains Elusive

As the largest retailer in Canada, Loblaw boasts well-recognized grocery and pharmacy banners and a sizable loyalty program that drives strong consumer engagement. However, we think the firm has failed to amass an economic moat based on either intangible assets or cost advantage, given its sales concentration in commoditized food retail, where low prices reign as the major point of differentiation.

Price vs Fair Value

L is trading at a 21% premium.
Price
CAD 150.58
Fair Value
CAD 974.00
Uncertainty
Low
1-Star Price
CAD 782.00
5-Star Price
CAD 65.30
Economic Moat
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Capital Allocation
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Bulls Say, Bears Say

Bulls

As the largest retailer in Canada, Loblaw is in a strong position to meet shoppers’ needs by leveraging an extensive retail footprint and well-established grocery and pharmacy banners.

Bears

Given the bargaining clout of its unionized store and warehouse employees, Loblaw will likely continue to face persistent labor cost pressure in the coming years.

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News

Trading Information

Previous Close Price
CAD 152.43
Day Range
CAD 151.90153.50
52-Week Range
CAD 110.52154.70
Bid/Ask
CAD 152.09 / CAD 152.74
Market Cap
CAD 47.12 Bil
Volume/Avg
192,965 / 374,842

Key Statistics

Price/Earnings (Normalized)
20.30
Price/Sales
0.82
Dividend Yield (Trailing)
1.17%
Dividend Yield (Forward)
1.17%
Total Yield
4.86%

Company Profile

Loblaw is Canada’s largest retailer, operating 2,500 food retail and pharmacy stores across the country. Its main grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, and its pharmacy stores are mostly under the Shoppers Drug Mart banner, which it acquired in 2014. In addition to brand-name offerings, Loblaw offers private-label products under the President’s Choice and No Name brands. Beyond retail, Loblaw runs the PC Optimum loyalty program and also offers credit cards and insurance brokerage, which are collectively referred to as financial services. George Weston is Loblaw’s controlling shareholder with a 53% stake.
Sector
Consumer Defensive
Industry
Grocery Stores
Stock Style Box
Large Core
Total Number of Employees
220,000

Competitors

Valuation

Metric
L
COST
WMT
Price/Earnings (Normalized)
20.3048.6827.21
Price/Book Value
4.1915.585.78
Price/Sales
0.821.300.75
Price/Cash Flow
9.7030.9814.44
Price/Earnings
L
COST
WMT

Financial Strength

Metric
L
COST
WMT
Quick Ratio
0.680.380.20
Current Ratio
1.250.930.83
Interest Coverage
4.4850.158.94
Quick Ratio
L
COST
WMT

Profitability

Metric
L
COST
WMT
Return on Assets (Normalized)
6.49%11.17%6.48%
Return on Equity (Normalized)
22.19%32.34%20.75%
Return on Invested Capital (Normalized)
10.48%22.17%12.00%
Return on Assets
L
COST
WMT
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