Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$38.71.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EMP.A shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Empire from C$36.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$41.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th.

Empire Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EMP.A traded up C$0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting C$37.74. 214,241 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,511. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. The business's 50-day moving average price is C$35.48 and its 200-day moving average price is C$34.00. Empire has a 1 year low of C$31.45 and a 1 year high of C$40.69.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This is a boost from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. In other Empire news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total transaction of C$242,690.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 875 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$30,087.05. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total transaction of C$108,960.00. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,294 shares of company stock valued at $504,880. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Empire

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.