Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$43.14.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Desjardins upped their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. CIBC upped their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Activity at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. In related 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 transaction, the director now 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. Insiders have sold 14,294 shares of company stock valued at $504,880 over the last quarter. 2.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Empire Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$37.03 and its 200-day moving average price is C$34.48. Empire has a 52-week low of C$31.45 and a 52-week high of C$41.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59. The firm has a market cap of C$5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of ∞. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

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.