National Bank Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price

Key Points

• National Bank Financial raised Empire’s price target to C$56 from C$55 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying 18.09% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans cautious: three analysts rate Empire a Buy and six rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and C$54.56 target price.
• Empire shares fell 1.4% to C$47.42 during Wednesday trading. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of C$0.94 on revenue of C$7.81 billion.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by analysts at National Bank Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, BayStreet reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.09% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Desjardins boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. TD increased their price target on shares of Empire from C$50.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Empire from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a C$58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$54.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 19th. Three equities research 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 a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$54.56.

Empire Stock Down 1.4%

TSE:EMP.A traded down C$0.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting C$47.42. The stock had a trading volume of 94,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,172. Empire has a twelve month low of C$43.81 and a twelve month high of C$53.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$49.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$48.86. The company has a market capitalization of C$10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.20. 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 (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported C$0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$7.81 billion during the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Empire will post 2.9581227 EPS for the current year.

Empire Company Profile

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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