Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$48.57.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EMP.A. CIBC increased their price target on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Desjardins raised their price target on Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a report on Sunday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Empire Stock Performance

EMP.A stock opened at C$43.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$43.10 and a 200-day moving average of C$39.94. Empire has a 12-month low of C$31.45 and a 12-month high of C$46.77.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire

In related news, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 75,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.83, for a total transaction of C$3,400,086.52. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 7,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$45.15, for a total transaction of C$328,014.75. Insiders sold 96,154 shares of company stock valued at $4,305,270 in the last quarter. Company 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.