Insider Selling: Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells C$376,211.84 in Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Simon Gagne sold 8,458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$44.48, for a total transaction of C$376,211.84.

Empire Price Performance

Empire stock opened at C$43.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$41.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$38.11. Empire Company Limited has a 12 month low of C$31.45 and a 12 month high of C$46.77.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on EMP.A. National Bankshares upped their target price on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities upped their price objective 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. CIBC lifted their target price on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$48.57.

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.