Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$48.86.

Several brokerages recently commented on EMP.A. CIBC boosted their price target on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a report on Sunday, December 15th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Empire from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 12,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.22, for a total value of C$591,611.18. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 5,354 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.96, for a total value of C$240,715.84. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,459 shares of company stock worth $961,651. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Empire Price Performance

TSE:EMP.A traded down C$1.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$46.12. 526,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 567,286. The firm's fifty day moving average price is C$44.49 and its 200 day moving average price is C$42.78. Empire has a 52-week low of C$31.50 and a 52-week high of C$49.28. The company has a market cap of C$6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.20%.

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.