Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target Raised to C$43.00 at Scotiabank

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price target hoisted by Scotiabank from C$42.50 to C$43.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. National Bankshares upped their target price on Empire from C$38.00 to C$41.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a C$39.00 price target on Empire and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday. CIBC increased their price target on Empire from C$41.00 to C$43.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Finally, Desjardins set a C$41.00 price target on Empire and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$42.43.

Empire Stock Performance

Shares of EMP.A stock opened at C$37.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is C$35.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$35.64. Empire has a one year low of C$33.09 and a one year high of C$38.36. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 129.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Empire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 13th. This is a positive change from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. 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.