Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Empire Company Limited's stock (TSE:EMP.A) has surpassed its 200-day moving average, reaching a high of C$56.40 during recent trading.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Empire, with estimates ranging from C$55.00 to C$62.00, indicating a strong market sentiment towards the stock.
• The company recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, raising its annual payout to $0.88, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.6%.

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$49.77 and traded as high as C$56.40. Empire shares last traded at C$56.18, with a volume of 365,575 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMP.A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Desjardins upped their price target on Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Securities upped 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, National Bankshares boosted their target price on Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Empire has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$57.43.

Empire Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$54.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$49.77. The firm has a market capitalization of C$7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. 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 1.6%. Empire's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 8,772 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.80, for a total transaction of C$489,477.60. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.10, for a total value of C$84,150.00. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 206,858 shares of company stock valued at $11,591,674. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

About Empire

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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