National Bank Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price

Key Points

• National Bank Financial cut Empire’s price target from C$56 to C$54 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying approximately 18.45% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Empire has an average “Hold” rating and an average target price of C$53.67, with three Buy ratings and six Holds.
• Empire shares fell 1.7% to C$45.59, while the company reported quarterly earnings of C$1.04 per share and revenue of C$8.47 billion.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by analysts at National Bank Financial from C$56.00 to C$54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.45% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on EMP.A. TD increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$50.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Scotia dropped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$50.00 to C$48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Empire from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a C$58.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$54.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Friday, June 19th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$53.67.

Empire Trading Down 1.7%

EMP.A stock traded down C$0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching C$45.59. 284,866 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,066. The firm has a market capitalization of C$10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 53.01, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.29. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is C$49.09 and its 200-day moving average price is C$48.79. Empire has a 52-week low of C$43.81 and a 52-week high of C$52.64.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The company reported C$1.04 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8.47 billion for the quarter. Empire had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 2.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Empire will post 2.9581227 earnings per share for the current year.

About Empire

Empire Company Limited TSX: EMP.A is a Canadian company headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire's key businesses are food retailing, through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc, and related real estate. With approximately $32 billion in annual sales and $17 billion in assets, Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 130,000 people. Additional financial information relating to Empire, including the Company's Annual Information Form, can be found on the Company's website at www.empireco.ca or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

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