Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$96.89 and traded as high as C$99.70. Metro shares last traded at C$97.99, with a volume of 539,622 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Securities lowered their price target on Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their target price on Metro from C$105.00 to C$101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Metro from C$112.00 to C$113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Metro from C$110.00 to C$103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Desjardins lowered their price target on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$99.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Metro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$106.25.

Metro Price Performance

The company has a market cap of C$20.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$97.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$96.89.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported C$1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$5.29 billion for the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 13.80%. As a group, research analysts predict that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Metro

In other Metro news, insider Dan Gabbard sold 2,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$96.67, for a total transaction of C$287,883.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,193,294.48. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Also, insider Paolo Bravi sold 2,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total transaction of C$222,247.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,804,505.80. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 11,844 shares of company stock valued at $1,096,119 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Metro

Metro is one of the largest grocery retailers in Canada. With its 2018 acquisition of Jean Coutu, it also boasts a meaningful drugstore footprint. Noteworthy grocery banners include Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, and Food Basics, while its pharmacies primarily operate under the Jean Coutu and Brunet trademarks. It utilizes an array of business models, but it most frequently acts as either a retailer, operating individual stores, or a franchiser, licensing its trademarks and supplying merchandise to franchisees.