Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.22 Per Share

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 15th, TickerTech Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share on Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This is a 10.0% increase from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Empire Stock Performance

EMP.A stock traded up C$0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching C$56.29. 277,516 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 475,351. Empire has a 52-week low of C$35.05 and a 52-week high of C$57.10. The stock has a market cap of C$7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is C$53.24 and its 200 day moving average is C$48.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EMP.A shares. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Empire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$57.43.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Sandra Sanderson sold 4,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.00, for a total value of C$253,456.00. Also, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,006 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.68, for a total transaction of C$2,550,940.08. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 153,761 shares of company stock worth $8,596,394. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Empire

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.