Loblaw is Still a Hold

Article Excerpt

LOBLAW COMPANIES $34 (Toronto symbol L; SI Rating: Above average) reported 15% higher earnings in the three months ended March 22, 2008, to $0.23 a share from $0.20 a year earlier. However, if you exclude restructuring costs and other unusual items, per-share earnings fell 26.1%, to $0.34 from $0.46. Operating margin (profits after regular costs — the higher, the better) rose to 4.5% in the latest quarter from 4.3%. The company will probably earn $1.98 a share in 2008, and the stock trades at 17.2 times that figure. That’s reasonable in light of the company’s market share. However, the stock will likely make little progress until it completes its restructuring plan, which aims to cut its distribution and other operating costs. The $0.84 dividend appears safe, and yields 2.5%. Loblaw is still a hold. hold…