Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$42.15 and last traded at C$42.14, with a volume of 78392 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$41.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Empire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$43.71.

Empire Trading Up 0.8 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$40.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$36.97. 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$5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Empire’s payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total transaction of C$147,252.79. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,033 shares of company stock valued at $526,583. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

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.