Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$44.11 and traded as high as C$51.34. Empire shares last traded at C$51.07, with a volume of 199,809 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Scotiabank upgraded Empire from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Four investment 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$48.86.

Empire Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of C$7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. 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$47.07 and its 200 day moving average price is C$44.11.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 1,852 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$46.16, for a total transaction of C$85,488.32. Also, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 12,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$48.22, for a total transaction of C$591,611.18. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,459 shares of company stock worth $961,651. 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.

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