Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Raised to C$43.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price objective boosted by BMO Capital Markets from C$40.00 to C$43.00 in a report published on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on EMP.A. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Desjardins boosted their price target on Empire from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on Empire from C$36.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Empire currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$43.14.

Empire Price Performance

TSE EMP.A opened at C$39.76 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$37.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$34.51. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59. Empire has a 12-month low of C$31.45 and a 12-month high of C$41.38.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total transaction of C$108,960.00. Also, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total transaction of C$242,690.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 875 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$30,087.05. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,294 shares of company stock worth $504,880. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.