Insider Selling: Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Sells 400 Shares of Stock

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$54.94, for a total value of C$21,976.00.

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

• On Friday, June 20th, Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 600 shares of Empire stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$54.91, for a total value of C$32,946.00.

Empire Stock Up 0.5%

Empire stock traded up C$0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting C$55.77. The company had a trading volume of 282,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,096. The stock has a market cap of C$7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Company Limited has a 1 year low of C$33.77 and a 1 year high of C$56.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$51.08 and a 200 day moving average of C$46.64.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EMP.A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Empire from C$48.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$49.00 to C$62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Empire from C$55.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Empire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$57.43.

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.