Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Expected to Rise, National Bankshares Analyst Says

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by National Bankshares from C$53.00 to C$59.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a report on Friday. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$57.43.

Empire Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of EMP.A stock traded up C$0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$55.77. The stock had a trading volume of 282,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,104. Empire has a 12-month low of C$33.77 and a 12-month high of C$56.41. 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's 50-day moving average is C$51.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$46.64. The firm has a market capitalization of C$7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$54.91, for a total value of C$32,946.00. Also, Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 12,269 shares of Empire stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.22, for a total transaction of C$591,611.18. Insiders sold a total of 13,269 shares of company stock worth $646,533 in the last 90 days. 2.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.