Douglas Bigler Nathanson Sells 3,658 Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total transaction of C$147,252.79.

Douglas Bigler Nathanson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 13th, Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 4,525 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$39.66, for a total transaction of C$179,461.50.

Empire Stock Performance

Empire stock opened at C$40.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.47. Empire Company Limited has a 1-year low of C$31.45 and a 1-year high of C$41.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$37.78 and its 200 day moving average is C$34.77.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMP.A has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$43.14.

Empire Company Profile

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.