Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$48.06 and traded as high as C$51.42. Empire shares last traded at C$50.02, with a volume of 946,829 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMP.A has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Empire from C$54.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, June 19th. Desjardins boosted their price target on Empire from C$53.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Empire from C$55.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 19th. National Bank Financial upped their price objective on Empire from C$54.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Empire from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$52.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$54.57.

Empire Stock Down 2.4%

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’s 50 day moving average price is C$48.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$48.06. The company has a market capitalization of C$11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.20.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The company reported C$0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of C$7.81 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Empire Company Limited will post 2.9581227 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Empire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

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. The company’s investment and other operations segment include the investment in Crombie REIT, which is an open-ended Canadian real estate investment trust, as well as the Genstar Development Partnership.