Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Given New C$47.00 Price Target at Desjardins

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price target increased by Desjardins from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Desjardins’ price target suggests a potential upside of 8.44% from the company’s current price.

EMP.A has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Empire from C$43.00 to C$44.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$44.29.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of EMP.A opened at C$43.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Empire has a 1-year low of C$31.45 and a 1-year high of C$43.77. The stock has a market cap of C$6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$41.24 and a 200 day moving average price of C$37.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the firm’s 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. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,033 shares of company stock valued at $526,583. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.