Desjardins Raises Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target to C$55.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Desjardins from C$50.00 to C$55.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. Desjardins' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.82% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Scotiabank raised Empire from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Empire from C$50.00 to C$56.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$51.00.

Empire Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Empire stock traded down C$0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting C$51.49. The company had a trading volume of 129,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,915. Empire has a 52-week low of C$31.60 and a 52-week high of C$54.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of C$7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$50.50 and a 200 day moving average of C$46.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 1,852 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.16, for a total value of C$85,488.32. Also, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 12,269 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.22, for a total value of C$591,611.18. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,692 shares of company stock valued at $927,819. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Empire Company Profile

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.

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