Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$43.86.

EMP.A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Empire from C$43.00 to C$44.00 in a research note on Monday. TD Securities increased their target price on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 4,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$39.66, for a total value of C$179,461.50. Insiders have sold a total of 13,033 shares of company stock valued at $526,583 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Empire Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:EMP.A opened at C$42.66 on Friday. Empire has a 52 week low of C$31.45 and a 52 week high of C$42.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$40.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$37.24. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

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.