Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$36.65 and traded as high as C$40.90. Empire shares last traded at C$40.56, with a volume of 290,656 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on EMP.A. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on shares of 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, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$43.71.

Empire Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The business's 50-day moving average is C$40.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$36.65. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

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 paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 4,525 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$39.66, for a total transaction of C$179,461.50. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,033 shares of company stock worth $526,583. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

Empire Company Profile

Empire Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the food retail and related real estate businesses in Canada. It operates through two segments, Food Retailing, and Investments and Other Operations. The company owns, affiliates, and franchises approximately 1,500 retail stores under various retail banners, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawtons Drugs; and approximately 350 retail fuel locations.