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Opinions David Baskin
Empire Company (A)EMP.A.TOCOMMENTJul 14, 2014
David BaskinStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 12, 2026. Market Open.
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Grocers are seeing a fantastic upswing in the technicals. Higher highs and higher lows both daily and weekly.
Likes industries with few competitors, and Canadian grocers are in that space -- can protect margins and revenues. He owns this as well as Loblaw, which is tracking a bit better.
Stan WongWe try not to use target sell prices too much as it typically results in investors too early. Often, there are valid reasons for a move and selling just because a stock hits a somewhat random price does not make sense to us. EMP.A is a quality stable company doing well. Its recent dip makes it more attractive, and insider buying is positive. We would be quite comfortable buying in the $48.50 range. We would review it on news items or if it rose to $55+. Lower interest rates should help the stock.
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The black sheep of Canada's big three grocers, but recent results were pretty good and that's raised the stock. Are improving costs and being more efficient. Same-store sales growth is flat, though. They lack a discount brand like Metro and Loblaw, and lack presence in pharmacies. That's why their PE is lower than their peers. Buy at $30-35, though. Well-managed, using technology well for deliveries.
Nice support level was momentarily cracked, which would have scared people like him if he were holding the stock. Recovered, fantastic news. Look at next levels of resistance, around $38. If that breaks, you'll get into old resistance levels of $41-42, and there's a decent chance of this. Looks OK, 7/10.
Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. Has seen some target downgrades, although relatively small. The weakness comes after the company stated it expects sales growth to slow. The decline is an interesting buy opportunity as it remains cheap and safe in these market conditions. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free
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This is the controller of Sobey’s stores. It also has a controlling interest in Crombie REIT, an owner of shopping centers across Canada. Sobey’s has recently taken over Safeway in Western Canada. The grocery business is a low margin, nickel/dime business. Very competitive. If you look through this company and try to value the assets, you will find that the value of the assets is higher than the stock price, $80-$90 a share. He thinks they have some synergies coming out of the Safeway acquisition. They are closing quite a few stores because of too much capacity and duplication. They’ll no doubt save a lot of money on logistics and administration. He sees increasing margins.