Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$47.35 and last traded at C$47.28, with a volume of 73855 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$46.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on EMP.A shares. Scotiabank upgraded Empire from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a research report on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a report on Sunday, December 15th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$48.86.

Empire Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$44.11 and a 200 day moving average of C$42.52.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In related news, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 1,852 shares of Empire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$46.16, for a total transaction of C$85,488.32. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 5,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.96, for a total transaction of C$240,715.84. Insiders have sold 8,190 shares of company stock worth $370,040 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

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.