Metro (TSE:MRU) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$86.74 and traded as high as C$92.98. Metro shares last traded at C$91.73, with a volume of 272,186 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. National Bankshares increased their price objective on Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. CIBC boosted their target price on Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut Metro from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price target on Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$93.56.

Metro Trading Down 1.0 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$91.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$86.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18. The company has a market cap of C$20.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.76%.

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.