Metro (TSE:MRU) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Metro (TSE:MRU) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MRU has been the subject of several other research reports. Cfra lifted their price target on Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Metro from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a research report on Thursday. Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$87.50.

Metro Stock Performance

Metro stock opened at C$89.73 on Thursday. Metro has a fifty-two week low of C$65.43 and a fifty-two week high of C$90.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$84.71 and its 200-day moving average price is C$80.80. The stock has a market cap of C$19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is 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.