Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$47.35 and last traded at C$47.28, with a volume of 73855 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$46.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EMP.A. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Desjardins increased their price target on Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a report on Sunday, December 15th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities lifted their target price on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Empire from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$48.86.

Empire Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$43.88 and a 200 day moving average price of C$42.37. The stock has a market cap of C$6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 5,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.96, for a total transaction of C$240,715.84. Also, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 767 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.11, for a total value of C$33,832.37. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,190 shares of company stock valued at $370,040. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

About Empire

Empire Co Ltd key businesses are food retailing, investments, and other operations. The food retailing division operates through Empire’s subsidiary Sobeys and represents nearly all of the company’s income. This segment owns, affiliates, or franchises more than 1,500 stores in 10 provinces, under retail banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Lawton’s Drug Stores, and multiple retail fuel locations.