Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Raised to C$56.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from C$50.00 to C$56.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.

Separately, Scotiabank raised shares of Empire from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$50.29.

Empire Stock Performance

Shares of Empire stock traded down C$0.36 on Wednesday, reaching C$51.84. 573,447 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 495,663. Empire has a 52 week low of C$31.60 and a 52 week high of C$54.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$50.39 and a 200 day moving average of C$46.21. The firm has a market capitalization of C$7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a PEG 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.

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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. 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 Empire stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.16, for a total value of C$85,488.32. Also, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 12,269 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.22, for a total transaction of C$591,611.18. Insiders have sold a total of 20,459 shares of company stock valued at $961,651 over the last 90 days. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.