02:00 PM EST, 02/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Empire will report its fiscal third-quarter results on March 13.

National Bank expects third-quarter EPS to be higher by 3%, reflecting positive Food Retailing (FR) sssg, a higher gross margin rate, and share repurchases.

Empire noted continued favourable/predictable shopping behavior with an increasing customer base, and a moderating overall decline in basket size, analyst Vishal Shreedhar writes. However, he believes it would be premature to conclude that consumer sentiment has improved enough to result in sssg outperformance at conventional over discount.

"We remain on the sidelines as we look for confirmation of sustainable momentum; however, we note that the valuation is at an interesting discount versus peers."

Empire is rated Sector Perform; price target is $49.

Price: 43.60, Change: +0.61, Percent Change: +1.42