Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported C$0.94 EPS for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. Empire had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business had revenue of C$7.81 billion for the quarter.

Here are the key takeaways from Empire’s conference call:

• Empire reported a strong finish to fiscal 2026, with adjusted EPS up 27% year over year in Q4 to CAD 0.94 and full-year adjusted EPS growth of 8.7%, in line with its long-term framework.
• Food sales rose 2.1% and same-store sales increased 1.4% in Q4, with management saying both full-service and discount banners continue to perform well and support customer value perception.
• The company is shifting toward a new-store growth phase, planning more than 20 new stores in fiscal 2027 and over 70 over the next three years, with more than 75% of openings expected to be discount stores.
• Empire announced a 10.2% dividend increase and expects to renew its NCIB, signaling continued capital returns, while also maintaining flexibility for acquisitions like Mayrand.
• Management sees meaningful upside in pharmacy, e-commerce, and cost efficiency, including benefits from central fill, DoorDash, and operating leverage initiatives, and guided fiscal 2027 EPS growth to the high end of 8%-11%.

Empire Price Performance

Shares of TSE:EMP.A opened at C$51.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$47.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$48.08. Empire has a one year low of C$43.81 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. The stock has a market capitalization of C$11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.49, a PEG ratio of 16.20 and a beta of -0.20.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. Empire’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EMP.A shares. National Bank Financial upped their target price on Empire from C$54.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Desjardins set a C$53.00 price target on Empire and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank cut Empire from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a C$52.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$53.00.

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.