Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$84.25.

MRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cfra raised their price target on Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Metro from C$82.00 to C$84.00 in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Desjardins raised their price target on Metro from C$75.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. TD Securities upgraded Metro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$80.00 to C$92.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target on Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Metro Price Performance

Shares of TSE MRU opened at C$84.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.10. Metro has a fifty-two week low of C$65.43 and a fifty-two week high of C$87.22. The firm has a market capitalization of C$18.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is C$82.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$76.62.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported C$1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of C$1.35. Metro had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 4.36%. The business had revenue of C$6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.58 billion.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.