Royal Bank of Canada Raises Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target to C$42.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from C$41.00 to C$42.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

EMP.A has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday. Desjardins upped their price objective on Empire from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Empire from C$36.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, National Bankshares upped their price objective on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$43.14.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of EMP.A stock opened at C$39.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$37.03 and a 200 day moving average price of C$34.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59. The firm has a market cap of C$5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. Empire has a 12 month low of C$31.45 and a 12 month high of C$41.38.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total transaction of C$108,960.00. Also, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total value of C$242,690.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 875 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$30,087.05. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,294 shares of company stock worth $504,880. Company insiders own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

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.