Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Shares Up 6.5%

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) traded up 6.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$34.84 and last traded at C$34.45. 22,423 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 402,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$32.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Desjardins dropped their target price on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$40.00 in a report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$38.29.

Empire Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$32.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$33.83. The company has a market cap of C$4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.46.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were 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 approximately C$30,087.05. Insiders own 1.99% 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.