Desjardins Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock Price

Key Points

• Desjardins cut its price target for Metro from C$99 to C$97 and kept a "hold" rating, a target that implies roughly a 7.8% upside from the current price.
• The analyst consensus remains a "Hold" with a consensus target of C$103.63, reflecting two Buy ratings and six Hold ratings among covering analysts.
• Shares traded at C$90.01, below the 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages (~C$95–96) and near the 52‑week low, and insiders have sold 11,844 shares over the past 90 days.

Metro (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Desjardins from C$99.00 to C$97.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Desjardins' price target suggests a potential upside of 7.77% from the company's current price.

MRU has been the subject of several other reports. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Metro from C$112.00 to C$113.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their target price on shares of Metro from C$101.00 to C$97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Metro from C$110.00 to C$105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$103.63.

Metro Stock Performance

Shares of MRU traded down C$0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$90.01. The stock had a trading volume of 241,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$95.34 and a 200 day moving average price of C$96.29. Metro has a fifty-two week low of C$89.30 and a fifty-two week high of C$109.20. The firm has a market capitalization of C$19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34.

Metro (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of C$5.11 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Metro will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Metro

In other Metro news, insider Dan Gabbard sold 2,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately C$1,193,294.48. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Richard Pruneau sold 2,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$90.87, for a total transaction of C$183,375.66. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$1,129,786.71. This represents a 13.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,844 shares of company stock valued at $1,096,119. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Metro Company Profile

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.

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