Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$53.67.

EMP.A has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Empire from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$58.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Empire from C$55.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 19th. National Bank Financial decreased their price target on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Desjardins lowered their price target on Empire from C$57.00 to C$53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotia dropped their price target on Empire from C$50.00 to C$48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

Empire News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Empire this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Empire reported first-quarter earnings of C$1.04 per share and revenue of approximately C$8.47 billion. Sales and profit increased as the company added locations and emphasized discount-focused offerings, supporting the stock’s long-term growth case. Empire reports higher sales and profit as it adds locations, focuses on discount
• Positive Sentiment: Desjardins maintained a “buy” rating, although it reduced its price target from C$57 to C$53. National Bank Financial’s revised C$54 target and TD’s C$52 target also remain above the current share price, indicating analysts continue to see potential appreciation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Empire’s quarterly revenue was below the FactSet consensus of C$8.54 billion, coming in at C$8.47 billion. The modest miss may limit the positive impact of the earnings beat and stronger sales narrative. Empire first-quarter revenue report
• Negative Sentiment: TD cut its target to C$52 from C$53 and downgraded its stance to “hold.” National Bank Financial lowered its target to C$54 from C$56 and assigned a “sector perform” rating, while Scotia reduced its target to C$48 from C$50.
• Negative Sentiment: The broad target-price reductions—particularly Scotia’s limited implied upside—signal that analysts see fewer near-term catalysts following the results. This cautious reassessment is likely the main reason EMP.A has decreased despite reporting higher quarterly earnings and sales.

Empire Trading Down 1.6%

EMP.A opened at C$45.61 on Friday. Empire has a 1-year low of C$43.81 and a 1-year high of C$52.64. The stock has a market capitalization of C$10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 53.03, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.29. 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 50-day moving average price of C$49.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$48.77.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of C$8.47 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Empire will post 2.9581227 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Empire Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.2425 per share. This is a positive change from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 15th. Empire’s payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

About Empire

Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A) is a Canadian company headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire’s key businesses are food retailing, through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc, and related real estate. With approximately $32 billion in annual sales and $17 billion in assets, Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 130,000 people. Additional financial information relating to Empire, including the Company’s Annual Information Form, can be found on the Company’s website at www.empireco.ca or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.