Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$79.86.

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRU. TD Securities upgraded Metro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from C$80.00 to C$92.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Metro from C$76.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Metro from C$82.00 to C$84.00 in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Metro from C$74.00 to C$75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Metro from C$74.50 to C$74.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Metro Trading Down 0.2 %

MRU stock opened at C$82.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.39. Metro has a 52 week low of C$65.43 and a 52 week high of C$83.16. The company has a market cap of C$18.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$76.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$73.27.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported C$0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.91. The company had revenue of C$4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$4.63 billion. Metro had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 14.55%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Metro will post 4.2740275 EPS for the current year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.38%.

About Metro

Metro Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer, franchisor, distributor, and manufacturer in the food and pharmaceutical sectors in Canada. The company operates supermarkets, discount, neighborhood, and specialty stores that provide fresh and grocery products, baked goods, prepared food products, meats, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, frozen food products, bakery products, delicatessen items, and pastries.