Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EMP.A shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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 report on Friday, June 20th. Desjardins raised their price target on Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a report on Friday, June 20th. Four equities 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, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.43.

Empire Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$52.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$47.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The company has a market capitalization of C$7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be 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 is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.20%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In other news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$54.91, for a total value of C$32,946.00. Also, Senior Officer Sandra Sanderson sold 4,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$56.00, for a total transaction of C$253,456.00. In the last three months, insiders have sold 153,761 shares of company stock valued at $8,596,394. Company 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.