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

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$43.14.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EMP.A shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC upped their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, National Bankshares boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total transaction of C$199,868.50. In related news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. Insiders have sold a total of 13,033 shares of company stock valued at $526,583 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of TSE:EMP.A opened at C$39.98 on Monday. Empire has a 12 month low of C$31.45 and a 12 month high of C$41.48. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is C$39.73 and its 200 day moving average price is C$36.01.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s payout ratio is 29.20%.

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.