Sandra Sanderson Sells 2,380 Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Stock

Key Points

• Sandra Sanderson, a Senior Officer of Empire Company Limited, sold a total of 2,380 shares at an average price of C$56.00, amounting to C$133,280.00.
• Empire Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, an increase from the previous $0.20, representing a 1.6% dividend yield.
• Recent analyst reports show an increase in price targets for Empire, with Scotiabank raising theirs to C$62.00 and a consensus target price of C$57.43 across multiple analysts.

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) Senior Officer Sandra Sanderson sold 2,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.00, for a total transaction of C$133,280.00.

Sandra Sanderson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 23rd, Sandra Sanderson sold 4,526 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$56.00, for a total transaction of C$253,456.00.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of TSE:EMP.A traded down C$0.27 on Thursday, reaching C$55.18. 261,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 457,737. The company's 50 day moving average is C$54.32 and its 200-day moving average is C$48.89. The stock has a market capitalization of C$7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G 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$35.79 and a fifty-two week high of C$57.10.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Empire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Empire's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. CIBC upped their price target on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. TD Securities upped their price target on Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Desjardins increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Four investment 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 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.

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