Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent Sells 8,772 Shares

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 8,772 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$55.80, for a total value of C$489,477.60.

Empire Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of EMP.A opened at C$55.59 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The stock has a market cap of C$7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. Empire Company Limited has a 1 year low of C$34.14 and a 1 year high of C$56.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$51.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$46.85.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Desjardins lifted their target price on Empire from C$50.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$57.43.

About Empire

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.