Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$51.35 and traded as high as C$52.41. Empire shares last traded at C$51.88, with a volume of 227,202 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Desjardins increased their price target on Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. CIBC increased their price target on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. National Bankshares set a C$59.00 price target on Empire and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Empire from C$62.00 to C$63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Empire presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.57.

Empire Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$55.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$51.35. 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 cap of C$12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.27.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Empire's payout ratio is presently 27.30%.

Insider Activity at Empire

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