Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Empire Company Limited shares reached a new 52-week high of C$57.11 during trading, closing at C$56.98 with a trading volume of 48,081 shares.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Empire, with CIBC setting a new target of C$59.00 and Scotiabank at C$62.00, reflecting positive projections for the company's performance.
• Empire recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.20 to $0.22, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a dividend yield of 1.6%.

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as C$57.11 and last traded at C$56.98, with a volume of 48081 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$56.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EMP.A. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. National Bankshares upped their target price on Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. TD Securities upped their target price on Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a report on Friday, June 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Empire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$57.43.

Empire Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$55.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$50.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$56.10, for a total transaction of C$84,150.00. Also, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.51, for a total value of C$2,543,797.65. Insiders have sold 206,858 shares of company stock valued at $11,591,674 in the last 90 days. 2.18% of the stock is 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.