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

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$36.65 and traded as high as C$40.90. Empire shares last traded at C$40.56, with a volume of 290,656 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EMP.A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Securities raised their price objective on Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Desjardins lifted their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC lifted their target price on Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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, September 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$43.71.

Empire Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$40.50 and a 200-day moving average price of C$36.74.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is 29.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of Empire stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total value of C$147,252.79. Insiders have sold 13,033 shares of company stock valued at $526,583 in the last ninety days. 2.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.