Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Raised to C$44.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from C$43.00 to C$44.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on EMP.A. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC lifted their target price on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Empire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$43.86.

Empire Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of EMP.A stock opened at C$42.06 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$40.82 and a 200-day moving average of C$37.18. The firm has a market cap of C$5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. Empire has a 12 month low of C$31.45 and a 12 month high of C$42.36.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s payout ratio is 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total value of C$147,252.79. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,033 shares of company stock valued at $526,583. 2.18% of the stock is owned by 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.