Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on EMP.A. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Desjardins boosted their target price on Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$57.43.

Empire Trading Up 0.2%

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's 50 day moving average price is C$51.54 and its 200 day moving average price is C$46.85. The company has a market cap of C$7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 12,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.22, for a total transaction of C$591,611.18. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 600 shares of Empire stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$54.91, for a total value of C$32,946.00. Insiders have sold a total of 71,075 shares of company stock worth $3,845,863 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

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.