Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$56.80 and last traded at C$56.27, with a volume of 390198 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$55.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities boosted their price target 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. Desjardins boosted 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 report on Tuesday, June 17th. National Bankshares boosted their price target 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. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$57.43.

Empire Trading Up 0.8%

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$51.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$47.05. The company has a market cap of C$7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Empire's payout ratio is presently 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other Empire news, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 44,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.19, for a total transaction of C$2,456,396.52. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$54.91, for a total value of C$32,946.00. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,549 shares of company stock valued at $6,387,405. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.