Desjardins Raises Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target to C$44.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price objective boosted by Desjardins from C$42.00 to C$44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock.

EMP.A has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday. National Bankshares increased their target price on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities boosted their target price on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Empire presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of C$43.14.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of Empire stock opened at C$39.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$37.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$34.51. Empire has a 1-year low of C$31.45 and a 1-year high of C$41.38. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Insider Transactions at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total transaction of C$108,960.00. In related news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total value of C$108,960.00. Also, Senior Officer Vivek Sood sold 4,236 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$36.17, for a total transaction of C$153,228.83. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$13,781.91. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,294 shares of company stock valued at $504,880. 2.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.