Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells C$179,461.50 in Stock

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

Empire Price Performance

Empire stock traded down C$0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching C$39.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 196,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,302. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$37.12 and a 200-day moving average price of C$34.51. The stock has a market cap of C$5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. Empire Company Limited has a 52 week low of C$31.45 and a 52 week high of C$41.38. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors 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 is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Empire’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EMP.A shares. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Desjardins raised their price target 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 raised 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, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Four 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, Empire currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.