Empire (TSE:EMP.A) PT Lowered to C$41.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$42.00 to C$41.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 19.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EMP.A. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. National Bankshares decreased their price target on shares of Empire from C$41.00 to C$40.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Desjardins reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$40.00 in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Empire has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$38.29.

Empire Price Performance

EMP.A stock opened at C$34.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$32.67 and its 200-day moving average is C$33.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Empire has a 1 year low of C$31.45 and a 1 year high of C$40.69.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In other news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 875 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$30,087.05. Corporate 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.