Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report)'s share price 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EMP.A. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Friday, June 20th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.43.

Empire Trading Up 0.4%

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 has a market cap of C$7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50-day moving average is C$52.86 and its 200 day moving average is C$47.76.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 4,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$55.79, for a total value of C$249,660.25. Also, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,474 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.89, for a total transaction of C$2,541,541.86. Insiders sold a total of 153,761 shares of company stock worth $8,596,394 in the last ninety days. 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.