Empire Co Ltd, the operator of Canadian grocery chain Sobeys Inc, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by its recently acquired Safeway Canada.Empire last year bought the Canadian arm of Safeway Inc for $5.7 billion to double its reach in the country's western provinces and compete with U.S. retail giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp.After completing the acquisition in November, Empire owns more than 1,800 stores under banners such as IGA, Lawton's Drug Stores, Foodland, FreshCo and Thrifty Foods.Total sales jumped 35.4 percent to C$6.22 billion in the first quarter ended Aug. 2.
Safeway Inc. (Safeway) is a food and drug retailer in North America. Shares of SWY traded higher by 0.09% or $0.03/share to $34.57. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $23.69 and as high as $36.03. On average, 1923820 shares of SWY exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 688604.
Target Corporation sells a range of assortment of general merchandise and food in its stores. Shares of TGT traded higher by 1.76% or $1.07/share to $61.95. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $54.66 and as high as $67.25. On average, 4709360 shares of TGT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 8664495.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart), operates retail stores in various formats globally. Shares of WMT fell by 0.3% or $-0.23/share to $76.51. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $71.51 and as high as $81.37. On average, 5663650 shares of WMT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6659859.
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