Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$48.61 and traded as high as C$51.67. Empire shares last traded at C$51.06, with a volume of 465,454 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EMP.A. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Empire from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. National Bank Financial cut their price objective on shares of Empire from C$56.00 to C$54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Desjardins reduced their target price on shares of Empire from C$57.00 to C$53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$57.00 target price on shares of Empire and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD lowered their target price on shares of Empire from C$53.00 to C$52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Empire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$53.56.

Empire Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$48.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$48.62. 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 market capitalization of C$11.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.40, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.21.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The company reported C$1.04 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$8.47 billion for the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. On average, analysts forecast that Empire Company Limited will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Empire Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.2425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Empire’s payout ratio is currently 91.16%.

Empire Company Profile

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.