Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of C$53.56

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on Empire Company, with seven holds and two buys among nine firms. The average 12-month price target is C$53.56.
• Empire shares opened at C$50.27, near their 52-week high of C$52.64, while the company reported quarterly revenue of C$8.47 billion and earnings of C$1.04 per share.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of C$0.2425 per share, equivalent to C$0.97 annually and a 1.9% yield; its payout ratio stands at 91.16%.

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$53.56.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD cut their price target on Empire from C$53.00 to C$52.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Desjardins decreased their target price on Empire from C$57.00 to C$53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. National Bank Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$57.00 price target on Empire and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, July 20th.

Empire Stock Performance

Shares of Empire stock opened at C$50.27 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is C$48.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$48.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of C$11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.78, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.21. Empire has a fifty-two week low of C$43.81 and a fifty-two week high of C$52.64.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Empire will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.2425 per share. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 15th. Empire's payout ratio is presently 91.16%.

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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