Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Empire Company's stock price has exceeded its 200-day moving average, currently trading at C$55.74, signaling strong performance in the market.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their price targets for Empire, with Scotiabank raising its target to C$63.00 and Desjardins to C$55.00, reflecting positive sentiment around the stock.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.20 to $0.22 per share, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$50.36 and traded as high as C$57.50. Empire shares last traded at C$55.74, with a volume of 509,171 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Empire from C$62.00 to C$63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Desjardins upped their target price on Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.57.

Empire Stock Down 1.2%

The firm's fifty day moving average is C$55.66 and its 200-day moving average is C$50.62. The company has a market capitalization of C$7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This is a positive change from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Empire's payout ratio is 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 4,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.79, for a total transaction of C$249,660.25. Also, Senior Officer Sandra Sanderson sold 2,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.00, for a total value of C$133,280.00. Insiders sold 206,858 shares of company stock worth $11,591,674 in the last three months. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.