Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$46.85 and last traded at C$46.83, with a volume of 155418 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$46.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on EMP.A. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities boosted 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 upgraded Empire from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Desjardins boosted their target price on Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Sunday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$48.86.

Empire Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$43.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$42.14. The company has a market capitalization of C$6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, 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.

Remove Ads

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire

In other news, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.11, for a total transaction of C$33,832.37. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 5,354 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.96, for a total transaction of C$240,715.84. Insiders have sold 6,338 shares of company stock worth $284,552 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

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.