Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Given New C$36.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price objective lowered by Scotiabank from C$37.00 to C$36.00 in a report published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

EMP.A has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Empire from C$49.00 to C$43.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. National Bankshares cut their price objective on shares of Empire from C$41.00 to C$40.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$40.00 in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$38.43.

Empire Price Performance

TSE EMP.A opened at C$32.38 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$33.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$35.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. Empire has a 52-week low of C$31.45 and a 52-week high of C$40.69.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Empire Company Profile

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.