Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Empire shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching C$49.34 before closing at C$48.87, modestly above the C$48.58 technical level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans cautious: Empire has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of C$53.67, despite some upgrades and buy ratings.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of C$1.04 per share on C$8.47 billion in revenue and declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.2425 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% annual yield.

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$48.58 and traded as high as C$49.34. Empire shares last traded at C$48.87, with a volume of 513,172 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotia dropped their price target on Empire from C$50.00 to C$48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Empire from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a C$58.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Empire from C$55.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 19th. TD dropped their target price on Empire from C$53.00 to C$52.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Desjardins dropped their target price on Empire from C$57.00 to C$53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Empire presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$53.67.

Empire Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$48.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$48.58. The company has a market capitalization of C$10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.36, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$8.47 billion during the quarter. Empire had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 2.18%. As a group, analysts predict that Empire Company Limited will post 2.9581227 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.2425 per share. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Empire's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.16%.

Empire Company Profile

Empire Company Limited TSX: EMP.A is a Canadian company headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire's key businesses are food retailing, through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc, and related real estate. With approximately $32 billion in annual sales and $17 billion in assets, Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 130,000 people. Additional financial information relating to Empire, including the Company's Annual Information Form, can be found on the Company's website at www.empireco.ca or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.