Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$47.76 and traded as high as C$57.10. Empire shares last traded at C$56.22, with a volume of 527,494 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Desjardins lifted their price objective 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. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.43.

Empire Trading Down 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of C$7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$52.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$47.90.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This is a positive change from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Empire's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Sandra Sanderson sold 4,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$56.00, for a total value of C$253,456.00. Also, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.89, for a total value of C$2,541,541.86. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 153,761 shares of company stock worth $8,596,394. 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.