Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by CIBC from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.
Several other analysts also recently commented on EMP.A. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Empire from C$43.00 to C$44.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. National Bankshares upped their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$48.14.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Empire
Empire Stock Performance
Shares of Empire stock traded down C$0.59 on Friday, hitting C$44.69. The stock had a trading volume of 466,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,215. 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 stock has a market cap of C$6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day moving average price is C$41.44 and its 200 day moving average price is C$37.81.
Empire Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire's payout ratio is 29.20%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the company's 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 value of C$199,868.50. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the company's 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. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
About Empire
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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.
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