Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Simon Gagne Sells 8,458 Shares of Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 8,458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.48, for a total transaction of C$376,211.84.

Empire Stock Performance

TSE:EMP.A opened at C$44.40 on Thursday. Empire Company Limited has a twelve month low of C$31.45 and a twelve month high of C$46.77. The company has a market cap of C$6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is C$41.64 and its 200-day moving average price is C$38.06.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMP.A has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC upped their target price on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Empire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$48.57.

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.