Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$46.85 and last traded at C$46.83, with a volume of 155418 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$46.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Empire from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$47.00 to C$49.00 in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Sunday, December 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$48.86.

Empire Stock Down 0.1 %

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 firm has a market cap of C$6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$43.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$42.05.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire

In other news, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 767 shares of Empire stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.11, for a total value of C$33,832.37. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Empire Company Profile

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.