Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$44.93 and traded as high as C$51.10. Empire shares last traded at C$50.79, with a volume of 338,396 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Empire from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$48.86.

Empire Stock Up 0.1%

The stock has a market cap of C$7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is C$48.48 and its 200 day moving average is C$44.93.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The company 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 1.58%. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 5,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.96, for a total transaction of C$240,715.84. Also, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 767 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.11, for a total transaction of C$33,832.37. Insiders have sold 20,459 shares of company stock worth $961,651 in the last quarter. 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.

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