Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Given New C$42.00 Price Target at Desjardins

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its target price lifted by Desjardins from C$41.00 to C$42.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

EMP.A has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$43.00 to C$44.00 in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.50 to C$43.00 in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets set a C$39.00 target price on shares of Empire and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$42.43.

Empire Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of TSE EMP.A opened at C$37.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 129.59, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.80. Empire has a 52-week low of C$33.09 and a 52-week high of C$38.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$35.68 and its 200-day moving average price is C$35.64. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.45.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st were issued a $0.1825 dividend. This is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.66%.

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.