Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$41.17 and traded as high as C$45.14. Empire shares last traded at C$45.05, with a volume of 776,748 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on EMP.A shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$50.00 in a report on Sunday, December 15th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities increased their target price on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Empire presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$48.57.

Empire Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$43.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$41.17.

Empire Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Bennett Medline sold 75,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$44.83, for a total value of C$3,400,086.52. Also, Senior Officer Matthew Reindel sold 4,587 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$43.81, for a total value of C$200,956.47. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,154 shares of company stock valued at $4,305,270. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

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.