Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives C$43.71 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$43.71.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins upped their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Empire Stock Performance

EMP.A stock opened at C$41.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The firm has a market cap of C$5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$40.82 and a 200-day moving average of C$37.18. Empire has a 12-month low of C$31.45 and a 12-month high of C$42.36.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s payout ratio is 29.20%.

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.