Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Empire Company Limited has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with four recommending hold and three suggesting a buy.
• The average 1-year price target for Empire shares is C$57.43, with notable price increases from various analysts recently.
• Empire has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.20 to $0.22, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$57.43.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EMP.A shares. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Friday, June 20th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th.

Insider Activity

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 4,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$55.79, for a total transaction of C$249,660.25. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 8,772 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$55.80, for a total transaction of C$489,477.60. Insiders have sold 206,858 shares of company stock worth $11,591,674 in the last 90 days. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Empire Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of EMP.A stock opened at C$55.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of C$7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. Empire has a fifty-two week low of C$35.79 and a fifty-two week high of C$57.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is C$54.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$49.28.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Empire's dividend payout ratio is 29.20%.

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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