TD Securities Increases Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target to C$48.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price objective boosted by TD Securities from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research note published on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Empire from C$43.00 to C$44.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Desjardins lifted their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. CIBC upped their price objective on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. National Bankshares lifted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$48.57.

Empire Stock Performance

Shares of Empire stock opened at C$44.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$41.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$37.84. The firm has a market capitalization of C$6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, 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. Empire has a fifty-two week low of C$31.45 and a fifty-two week high of C$46.77.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.20%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total transaction of C$147,252.79. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of Empire 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. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

About Empire

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.