Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Lowered to C$36.00 at Scotiabank

Empire (TSE:EMP.A - Free Report) had its price target cut by Scotiabank from C$37.00 to C$36.00 in a research report released on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on EMP.A. CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$40.00 in a report on Friday, March 1st. TD Securities dropped 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 report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. National Bankshares decreased their target price on shares of Empire from C$41.00 to C$40.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Desjardins decreased their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of C$38.43.

Empire Stock Up 0.9 %

TSE EMP.A traded up C$0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching C$31.99. The stock had a trading volume of 313,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,517. Empire has a 1 year low of C$31.45 and a 1 year high of C$40.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$33.36 and a 200 day moving average price of C$35.50. 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 cap of C$4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Empire's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.17%.

Empire Company Profile

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.