Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,320,000 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the February 13th total of 3,520,000 shares. Currently, 14.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 744,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Monro in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Monro from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Monro in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Monro Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MNRO traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $16.85. 685,882 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 574,438. The firm has a market capitalization of $504.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.54. Monro has a 52 week low of $15.75 and a 52 week high of $32.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.38.

Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The auto parts company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.12). Monro had a return on equity of 3.76% and a net margin of 1.64%. Sell-side analysts predict that Monro will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Monro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Monro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 175.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monro

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Monro by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 54,004 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,247 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Monro during the 4th quarter worth $501,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Monro by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 65,004 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 5,471 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Monro during the 4th quarter worth $2,866,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in Monro during the 4th quarter worth $353,000.

About Monro

Monro, Inc provides automotive undercar repair, and tire sales and services in the United States. It offers replacement tires and tire related services, automotive undercar repair services, and routine maintenance services primarily to passenger cars, light trucks, and vans. The company also provides other products and services for brakes; mufflers and exhaust systems; and steering, drive train, suspension, and wheel alignment.