Insider Selling: Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Director Sells 45,015 Shares of Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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.

Michael Bennett Medline also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 10th, Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,006 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$56.68, for a total value of C$2,550,940.08.
• On Tuesday, June 24th, Michael Bennett Medline sold 45,474 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.89, for a total value of C$2,541,541.86.
• On Friday, June 20th, Michael Bennett Medline sold 44,508 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$55.19, for a total value of C$2,456,396.52.

Empire Stock Performance

EMP.A traded down C$0.91 on Thursday, reaching C$55.38. 342,890 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,384. The company's 50-day moving average price is C$53.24 and its 200 day moving average price is C$48.10. Empire Company Limited has a fifty-two week low of C$35.43 and a fifty-two week high of C$57.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of C$7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This is a boost from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Empire's payout ratio is 29.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities raised their price objective on Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. CIBC lifted their price target on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a report on Friday, June 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their price target on Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.43.

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.

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