The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Sept. 19, edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Chris Li has reaffirmed his "buy" recommendation for Empire. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Li boosted his share target by a loonie to $42. Analysts on average target the shares at $42.31. The Globe says Mr. Li made his price tweak following Empire's stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2024. Mr. Li says in a note: "Empire's stronger-than-expected SSSG (4.1 per cent vs our 2 per cent) shows early signs of recovery at full-service banners as inflation moderates and basket sizes improve (back to year-ago levels). Given Empire's asset mix, we believe moderation in inflation, improvement in macro conditions and growing e-commerce adoption are key to improving results and sentiment, leading Empire's discount to peers to narrow (11.7 times forward P/E vs 14.5–15.5 times for Loblaw and Metro). We believe these will materialize, but patience is required." The Globe reported on June 23 that National Bank Financial analyst Vishal Shreedhar had reaffirmed his "outperform" recommendation for Empire when it could be had for $35.51.