Research Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates for Empire (EMP.A)

Empire (TSE: EMP.A) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 12/15/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at Desjardins from C$47.00 to C$50.00.
• 12/13/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at TD Securities from C$44.00 to C$48.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 12/13/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from C$44.00 to C$48.00.
• 12/13/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at CIBC from C$47.00 to C$55.00.
• 12/13/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at Scotiabank from C$44.00 to C$47.00.
• 12/9/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at Desjardins from C$44.00 to C$47.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/2/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from C$43.00 to C$44.00.
• 11/12/2024 – Empire had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$42.00 to C$46.00.

Empire Trading Up 0.3 %

Empire stock traded up C$0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching C$43.83. The company had a trading volume of 46,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,653. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Empire Company Limited has a 12-month low of C$31.45 and a 12-month high of C$46.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$42.12 and a 200 day moving average price of C$38.64. The firm has a market cap of C$6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Empire’s payout ratio is presently 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 4,587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$43.81, for a total value of C$200,956.47. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the company’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. Insiders have sold a total of 101,004 shares of company stock worth $4,505,138 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Empire Co Ltd key businesses are food retailing, investments, and other operations. The food retailing division operates through Empire’s subsidiary Sobeys and represents nearly all of the company’s income. This segment owns, affiliates, or franchises more than 1,500 stores in 10 provinces, under retail banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Lawton’s Drug Stores, and multiple retail fuel locations.