Brokerages Set Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Target Price at C$52.83

Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$52.83.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Desjardins reduced their target price on shares of Empire from C$60.00 to C$53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Empire from C$61.00 to C$55.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Securities cut their price target on shares of Empire from C$58.00 to C$50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price target on shares of Empire from C$59.00 to C$53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Empire from C$57.00 to C$52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th.

Empire Trading Down 0.2%

TSE EMP.A opened at C$48.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$47.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$49.36. Empire has a one year low of C$42.26 and a one year high of C$58.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The company reported C$0.69 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$8 billion for the quarter. Empire had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.94%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Empire will post 2.9581227 earnings per share for the current 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.