Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells C$147,252.79 in Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total transaction of C$147,252.79.

Douglas Bigler Nathanson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 13th, Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 4,525 shares of Empire stock. The shares were sold at an average price of C$39.66, for a total transaction of C$179,461.50.

Empire Trading Down 0.3 %

TSE:EMP.A opened at C$40.87 on Friday. Empire Company Limited has a 12-month low of C$31.45 and a 12-month high of C$41.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$37.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$34.77. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EMP.A. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Empire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$43.14.

About Empire

Empire Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the food retail and related real estate businesses in Canada. It operates through two segments, Food Retailing, and Investments and Other Operations. The company owns, affiliates, and franchises approximately 1,500 retail stores under various retail banners, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawtons Drugs; and approximately 350 retail fuel locations.