Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson Sells 4,525 Shares

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 4,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$39.66, for a total transaction of C$179,461.50.

Empire Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of EMP.A stock traded down C$0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching C$39.33. 196,676 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,302. Empire Company Limited has a 1 year low of C$31.45 and a 1 year high of C$41.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$37.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$34.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 134.59. The stock has a market cap of C$5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on EMP.A. Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Securities increased their price objective on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. CIBC boosted their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$43.14.

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.