National Bank Financial Forecasts Lower Earnings for Metro

Key Points

• National Bank Financial has revised its FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for Metro Inc. down from $4.83 to $4.78.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Metro, with UBS Group increasing it from C$99.00 to C$105.00, while National Bankshares lowered it from C$111.00 to C$110.00.
• Metro's stock saw a slight increase of 0.3% during trading, reaching a price of C$98.70.

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Free Report) - Investment analysts at National Bank Financial lowered their FY2025 EPS estimates for Metro in a research note issued on Wednesday, August 13th. National Bank Financial analyst V. Shreedhar now expects that the company will post earnings of $4.78 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $4.83. The consensus estimate for Metro's current full-year earnings is $4.82 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Metro's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.14 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.27 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.28 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.78 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MRU. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Metro from C$112.00 to C$118.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Metro from C$110.00 to C$115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Metro from C$98.00 to C$112.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of Metro from C$111.00 to C$110.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$110.13.

Metro Stock Performance

Shares of MRU traded up C$0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$102.10. 453,084 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 475,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$104.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$101.15. Metro has a 1 year low of C$81.01 and a 1 year high of C$109.20. The stock has a market cap of C$22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

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.