Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives C$48.57 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four 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 brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$48.57.

EMP.A has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Sunday, December 15th. TD Securities increased their target price on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 4,587 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$43.81, for a total value of C$200,956.47. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 7,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 worth $4,305,270 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

Empire Stock Performance

TSE EMP.A traded up C$0.05 on Friday, hitting C$42.40. 747,015 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,927. The business's 50 day moving average price is C$42.94 and its 200-day moving average price is C$39.65. Empire has a 52-week low of C$31.45 and a 52-week high of C$46.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Empire's payout ratio 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.