Empire (TSE:EMP.A) PT Lowered to C$41.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Desjardins cut their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$39.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. CIBC cut their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$40.00 in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Securities lowered their price target on Empire from C$37.00 to C$36.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$38.71.

Empire Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of TSE EMP.A opened at C$34.46 on Friday. Empire has a fifty-two week low of C$31.45 and a fifty-two week high of C$40.69. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$32.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$33.75.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1825 per share. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.17%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other news, Director William Linton sold 7,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.39, for a total transaction of C$242,690.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$30,087.05. 1.99% of the stock is 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.