Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$38.71.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Scotiabank cut their price target on Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Empire from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Desjardins increased their target price on Empire from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on Empire from C$36.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th.

Empire Stock Performance

Empire has a twelve month low of C$31.45 and a twelve month high of C$40.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$33.02 and its 200 day moving average price is C$33.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of C$5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.46.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of ∞. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire

In other news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 875 shares in the company, valued at C$30,087.05. Insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

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.