Fact based stock research
Empire (TSX:EMP.A)

CA2918434077

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Empire stock research in summary

empireco.ca

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 38 (worse than 62% compared with investment alternatives), Empire (Food Retail, Canada) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Empire are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 70 (better than 70% of alternatives) but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 45), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 33), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 38, is a hold recommendation based on Empire's financial characteristics. As the company Empire's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 70) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 45) and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 33), it may be a risky investment, because debt in times of crises can make things worse. The good value, better than 70% of comparable companies, may indicate the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	70
Growth Rank	45
Safety Rank	33
Combined Rank	38

Country	Canada
Industry	Food Retail
Index	TSX Composite
Size class	Medium

31-Jul-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Empire

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	79	73	85	70
GROWTH
GROWTH	27	23	57	45
SAFETY
SAFETY	32	18	17	33
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	49	12	62	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	37	8	58	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 31-Jul-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 3-May-2025. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Empire is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	79	73	85	70
GROWTH
GROWTH	27	23	57	45
SAFETY
SAFETY	32	18	17	33
COMBINED
COMBINED	42	19	54	38

Last update of combined financial performance: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Empire the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with alternatives), Empire shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators above average for Empire. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price to earnings, P/E ratio) is 60 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 60% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Empire's profit levels. The same is valid for the expected Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 58, and for Dividend Yield with a Dividend Yield Rank of 67. But, compared with other companies in the same industry, the stock price is higher than average as regards expected revenues; only 52% of all competitors have an even higher stock price as regards to sales revenues (a Price-to-Sales Rank of 48). Profits, the level of invested capital, and dividend policy suggest that this stock is attractively priced. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 70, is a buy recommendation based on Empire's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since it is on the expensive side for Price-to-Sales, it may mean that Empire has pricing power in its distribution market because it can charge higher prices than its competitors. If this is the case, all four value indicators are positive signals for purchasing Empire shares. 9. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	73	70	77	48
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	64	80	70	60
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	65	42	64	58
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	66	75	67	67
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	79	73	85	70

Last update of Value Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Empire; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 45 (better than 45% compared with alternatives), Empire shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Empire. Profit Growth has a rank of 60, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 60% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 89 (above 89% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 45, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 55% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 12. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 45, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for Empire. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	13	42	42	45
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	34	55	63	60
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	69	14	33	12
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	41	37	69	89
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	27	23	57	45

Last update of Growth Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Empire.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 33 (better than 33% compared with alternatives), the company Empire has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Empire is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for Empire. Liquidity is at 47, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 53% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 44, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 56% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 27 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 73% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 33 (worse than 67% compared with alternatives), Empire has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing. Investors should look at Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks to confirm a very positive outlook or be careful with investing in stocks of Empire because it may suffer significantly in case of future difficulties. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	40	42	37	44
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	19	31	18	27
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	63	34	37	47
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	32	18	17	33

Last update of Safety Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Empire and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	24	17	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	32	4	62	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	21	33	72	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	80	76	95	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	49	12	62	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Empire.
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