Insider Selling: Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells 4,475 Shares of Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 4,475 shares of the firm's 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.

Empire Trading Up 0.4%

EMP.A stock traded up C$0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$56.45. 429,096 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 476,826. The company has a market capitalization of C$7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, 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 Company Limited has a fifty-two week low of C$35.05 and a fifty-two week high of C$57.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$52.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$47.88.

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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Empire's payout ratio is 29.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.