Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives C$57.57 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Key Points

• Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from seven research firms, with four ratings of hold and three of buy, along with an average price target of C$57.57.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.20 to $0.22, yielding 1.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 27.30%.
• Insider activity saw notable sales, with Senior Officer Douglas Nathanson and Director Michael Medline selling a combined over 46,000 shares of the company stock valued at over C$2.6 million.

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$57.57.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EMP.A shares. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a report on Friday, June 20th. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$62.00 to C$63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Sandra Sanderson sold 4,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.00, for a total transaction of C$253,456.00. Also, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 4,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.79, for a total transaction of C$249,660.25. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 206,858 shares of company stock valued at $11,591,674. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

Empire Trading Down 1.1%

EMP.A stock traded down C$0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$52.73. The stock had a trading volume of 442,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,751. The firm has a market cap of C$12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. Empire has a 1-year low of C$38.15 and a 1-year high of C$58.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$55.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$51.10.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.30%.

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.