Empire (TSE:EMP.A) PT Raised to C$38.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price target lifted by TD Securities from C$36.00 to C$38.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the stock.

EMP.A has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Desjardins lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday. CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$40.00 in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$41.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$38.71.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of TSE:EMP.A opened at C$35.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of C$5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.46. Empire has a 52 week low of C$31.45 and a 52 week high of C$40.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is C$32.90 and its 200 day moving average is C$33.74.

Empire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total transaction of C$242,690.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$30,087.05. 1.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.