TD Has Lowered Expectations for Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price

Key Points

• TD lowered Empire’s price target from C$53 to C$52 while maintaining a “hold” rating, implying approximately 14% upside from the stock’s C$45.59 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: three analysts rate Empire a “buy” and six recommend “hold,” producing an average rating of “hold” and an average price target of C$53.67.
• Empire shares fell 1.7% to C$45.59, near the lower end of their 52-week range. The company recently reported quarterly revenue of C$8.47 billion and earnings of C$1.04 per share.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at TD from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, BayStreet reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the stock. TD's price target points to a potential upside of 14.06% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Empire from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a C$58.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Empire from C$55.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Scotia reduced their target price on Empire from C$50.00 to C$48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price target on 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, National Bank Financial lowered their price target on Empire from C$56.00 to C$54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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 were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 485,066. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$49.09 and a 200-day moving average price of C$48.79. Empire has a 1 year low of C$43.81 and a 1 year high of C$52.64. The firm has a market capitalization of C$10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.01, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.29.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of C$8.47 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Empire will post 2.9581227 earnings per share 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.