Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson Sells 4,525 Shares

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 4,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$39.66, for a total value of C$179,461.50.

Empire Stock Performance

Empire Company Limited has a 52-week low of C$31.45 and a 52-week high of C$41.38. The company has a market cap of C$5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$37.12 and a 200 day moving average price of C$34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of ∞. This is a positive change from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on EMP.A. National Bankshares upped their price target 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. Desjardins upped their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities upped their price target on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.