Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$41.46 and traded as high as C$45.24. Empire shares last traded at C$45.05, with a volume of 288,147 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on EMP.A shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Securities upped their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$48.57.

Empire Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$43.41 and a 200 day moving average of C$41.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Empire’s payout ratio is 29.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 75,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.83, for a total value of C$3,400,086.52. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 7,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$45.15, for a total value of C$328,014.75. Insiders sold 96,154 shares of company stock valued at $4,305,270 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

About Empire

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.