Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average of $34.15

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$34.15 and traded as high as C$38.31. Empire shares last traded at C$37.90, with a volume of 363,643 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EMP.A. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Thursday. Desjardins boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Empire from C$36.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$38.86.

Empire Price Performance

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 business's 50-day simple moving average is C$36.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$34.17. The stock has a market cap of C$5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Empire's payout ratio is 27.40%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

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