Insider Selling: Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells 4,850 Shares of Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total transaction of C$199,868.50.

Pierre St-Laurent also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 23rd, Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total transaction of C$108,960.00.

Empire Trading Down 0.3 %

TSE EMP.A opened at C$40.62 on Tuesday. Empire Company Limited has a 1 year low of C$31.45 and a 1 year high of C$41.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of C$5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$38.34 and a 200 day moving average of C$35.06.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Empire Company Profile

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.