Brokerages Set Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) PT at C$38.71

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$38.71.

EMP.A has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. National Bankshares increased their price objective on Empire from C$40.00 to C$41.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. TD Securities increased their price objective on Empire from C$36.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Desjardins increased their price objective on Empire from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. Also, Senior Officer Vivek Sood sold 4,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.17, for a total transaction of C$153,228.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 381 shares in the company, valued at C$13,781.91. Insiders have sold 14,294 shares of company stock worth $504,880 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Empire Stock Down 0.3 %

Empire stock opened at C$36.66 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$34.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$33.87. 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 firm has a market cap of C$5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.46. Empire has a twelve month low of C$31.45 and a twelve month high of C$40.69.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

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.