Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Sets New 12-Month High at $40.70

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$40.70 and last traded at C$40.70, with a volume of 67167 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$38.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EMP.A shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC boosted their price objective on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. National Bankshares upped their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Desjardins upped their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Empire has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$43.14.

Empire Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$37.03 and a 200-day moving average price of C$34.48. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. 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 ∞. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In related news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total transaction of C$242,690.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 875 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$30,087.05. In other Empire news, Senior Officer Vivek Sood sold 4,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.17, for a total value of C$153,228.83. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 381 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$13,781.91. Also, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total value of C$242,690.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 875 shares in the company, valued at C$30,087.05. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,294 shares of company stock valued at $504,880. Corporate insiders own 2.15% 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.