Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Raised to C$50.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its target price lifted by Desjardins from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a report released on Sunday,BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on EMP.A. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$48.57.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of TSE:EMP.A opened at C$44.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$41.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$37.84. The firm has a market capitalization of C$6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG 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. Empire has a 52 week low of C$31.45 and a 52 week high of C$46.77.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 Empire stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total transaction of C$199,868.50. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Empire Company Profile

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.