Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Increased to C$40.00 by Analysts at Desjardins

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price objective upped by Desjardins from C$38.00 to C$40.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Empire from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Friday. National Bankshares upped their target price on Empire from C$40.00 to C$41.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$38.71.

Empire Stock Up 0.7 %

TSE:EMP.A opened at C$34.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$32.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$33.75. Empire has a one year low of C$31.45 and a one year high of C$40.69. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.46.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Empire’s payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total value of C$242,690.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$30,087.05. Corporate insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

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.