TD Securities Increases Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target to C$48.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Free Report) had its price target lifted by TD Securities from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report report published on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on EMP.A. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Empire from C$43.00 to C$44.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins boosted their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. CIBC boosted their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Empire has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$48.14.

Empire Stock Down 1.3 %

TSE:EMP.A traded down C$0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$44.69. 466,600 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 407,215. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$41.44 and a 200 day moving average of C$37.81. Empire has a twelve month low of C$31.45 and a twelve month high of C$46.77. The company has a market capitalization of C$6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Empire's payout ratio is 29.20%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

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

About Empire

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.