Desjardins Cuts Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Price Target to C$53.00

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price target decreased by Desjardins from C$57.00 to C$53.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,BayStreet reports. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on Empire from C$54.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, June 19th. National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on Empire from C$56.00 to C$54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Scotia cut their target price on Empire from C$50.00 to C$48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised Empire from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$58.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD raised their target price on Empire from C$50.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$53.67.

Empire Trading Down 1.6%

EMP.A opened at C$45.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of C$10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$49.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$48.76. Empire has a fifty-two week low of C$43.81 and a fifty-two week high of C$52.64.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The company reported C$1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of C$8.47 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Empire will post 2.9581227 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $0.2425 dividend. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Empire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.33%.

Key Headlines Impacting Empire

Here are the key news stories impacting Empire this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Empire reported first-quarter earnings of C$1.04 per share and revenue of approximately C$8.47 billion. Sales and profit increased as the company added locations and emphasized discount-focused offerings, supporting the stock’s long-term growth case. Empire reports higher sales and profit as it adds locations, focuses on discount
• Positive Sentiment: Desjardins maintained a “buy” rating, although it reduced its price target from C$57 to C$53. National Bank Financial’s revised C$54 target and TD’s C$52 target also remain above the current share price, indicating analysts continue to see potential appreciation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Empire’s quarterly revenue was below the FactSet consensus of C$8.54 billion, coming in at C$8.47 billion. The modest miss may limit the positive impact of the earnings beat and stronger sales narrative. Empire first-quarter revenue report
• Negative Sentiment: TD cut its target to C$52 from C$53 and downgraded its stance to “hold.” National Bank Financial lowered its target to C$54 from C$56 and assigned a “sector perform” rating, while Scotia reduced its target to C$48 from C$50.
• Negative Sentiment: The broad target-price reductions—particularly Scotia’s limited implied upside—signal that analysts see fewer near-term catalysts following the results. This cautious reassessment is likely the main reason EMP.A has decreased despite reporting higher quarterly earnings and sales.

About Empire

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.