Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $32.12

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$32.12 and last traded at C$32.22, with a volume of 25587 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$32.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMP.A has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$49.00 to C$43.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Empire from C$43.00 to C$39.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Desjardins reduced their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$38.86.

Empire Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average is C$33.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$35.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Empire's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

About Empire

Empire Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the food retail and related real estate businesses in Canada. It operates through two segments, Food Retailing, and Investments and Other Operations. The company owns, affiliates, and franchises approximately 1,500 retail stores under various retail banners, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawtons Drugs; and approximately 350 retail fuel locations.