Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$56.65 and last traded at C$56.60, with a volume of 367614 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$56.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EMP.A shares. Scotiabank increased 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. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note 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 stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Desjardins upped their price objective 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 upped their price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.43.

Empire Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company's 50 day moving average price is C$52.97 and its 200 day moving average price is C$47.88. The firm has a market capitalization of C$7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This is a boost from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In other Empire news, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,474 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$55.89, for a total value of C$2,541,541.86. Also, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 4,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$55.79, for a total transaction of C$249,660.25. In the last quarter, insiders sold 153,761 shares of company stock valued at $8,596,394. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.