Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Raised to C$46.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on EMP.A. TD Securities boosted their price target on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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 report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 report on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins upped their target price on 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, CIBC lifted their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four 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 an average target price of C$43.71.

Empire Stock Down 0.4 %

Empire stock opened at C$41.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$40.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$36.49. Empire has a one year low of C$31.45 and a one year high of C$42.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.20%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

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