Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$39.20 and traded as high as C$44.67. Empire shares last traded at C$44.10, with a volume of 362,301 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMP.A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC raised their target price on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price objective on Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Sunday, December 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$48.57.

Empire Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is C$42.60 and its 200-day moving average price is C$39.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of C$6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Empire’s payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 8,458 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.48, for a total value of C$376,211.84. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 7,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$45.15, for a total value of C$328,014.75. Insiders have sold 96,154 shares of company stock valued at $4,305,270 over the last three months. 2.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.