Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$49.25 and traded as high as C$49.30. Empire shares last traded at C$48.52, with a volume of 231,385 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EMP.A shares. Desjardins reduced their price objective on shares of Empire from C$60.00 to C$53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their target price on shares of Empire from C$59.00 to C$53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Empire from C$57.00 to C$52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Empire from C$58.00 to C$50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut their target price on Empire from C$58.00 to C$54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$52.83.

Empire Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$47.38 and a 200 day moving average of C$49.25. The stock has a market cap of C$11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The company reported C$0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$8 billion during the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. On average, analysts expect that Empire Company Limited will post 2.9581227 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Empire

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.