Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives C$48.57 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$48.57.

A number of research firms have issued reports on EMP.A. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities raised their target price on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Sunday, December 15th.

Insider Activity at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 7,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$45.15, for a total transaction of C$328,014.75. Also, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 75,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.83, for a total transaction of C$3,400,086.52. Insiders have sold 96,154 shares of company stock worth $4,305,270 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of Empire stock opened at C$42.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$43.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$40.88. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. Empire has a 1-year low of C$31.45 and a 1-year high of C$46.77.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.20%.

About Empire

Empire Co Ltd key businesses are food retailing, investments, and other operations. The food retailing division operates through Empire’s subsidiary Sobeys and represents nearly all of the company’s income. This segment owns, affiliates, or franchises more than 1,500 stores in 10 provinces, under retail banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Lawton’s Drug Stores, and multiple retail fuel locations.