Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$103.63.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRU. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Metro from C$112.00 to C$113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotia cut their price target on shares of Metro from C$103.00 to C$96.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price target on shares of Metro from C$101.00 to C$97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Metro from C$110.00 to C$105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial cut their price target on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Metro Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Metro stock opened at C$91.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of C$19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is C$94.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$96.20. Metro has a 1-year low of C$89.13 and a 1-year high of C$109.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Metro (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$5.11 billion for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 4.52%. Analysts predict that Metro will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Metro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the insider owned 12,344 shares in the company, valued at 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total transaction of C$222,247.80. Following the sale, 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 position. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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