Insider Selling: Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells 7,265 Shares of Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 7,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$45.15, for a total value of C$328,014.75.

Douglas Bigler Nathanson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 25th, Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total value of C$147,252.79.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of EMP.A stock traded up C$0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting C$44.40. 409,021 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,254. The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$41.58 and its 200-day moving average is C$37.99. 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 cap of C$6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. Empire Company Limited has a 52 week low of C$31.45 and a 52 week high of C$46.77.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s payout ratio is presently 29.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMP.A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities upped their target price on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Desjardins increased their price objective on Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Sunday. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$48.57.

Empire Company Profile

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.