Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Desjardins Analyst Says

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by analysts at Desjardins from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a note issued to investors on Sunday,BayStreet.CA reports. Desjardins' target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.88% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on EMP.A. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities raised their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$48.57.

Empire Stock Down 1.3 %

TSE EMP.A traded down C$0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching C$44.69. The stock had a trading volume of 466,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,215. The stock has a market cap of C$6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. Empire has a 1 year low of C$31.45 and a 1 year high of C$46.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$41.44 and a 200 day moving average price of C$37.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total value of C$147,252.79. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.