Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$41.46 and traded as high as C$45.24. Empire shares last traded at C$45.05, with a volume of 288,147 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMP.A has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Desjardins boosted their price target on Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a report on Sunday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Empire currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$48.57.

Empire Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50 day moving average is C$43.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$41.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Remove Ads

Empire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Empire's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In other news, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 75,844 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.83, for a total value of C$3,400,086.52. Also, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 8,458 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.48, for a total value of C$376,211.84. In the last three months, insiders have sold 96,154 shares of company stock worth $4,305,270. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.