Metro (TSE:MRU) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Metro (TSE:MRU) hit a new 52-week low of C$89.13 (last C$90.22) on Thursday with ~114,170 shares traded, and carries a consensus Hold rating with an average target of C$103.63.
• Metro reported quarterly earnings of C$1.11 EPS on C$5.11 billion in revenue, has a market cap of C$19.21 billion and a P/E of 19.4, and analysts project roughly 4.82 EPS for the current year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.4075 (annualized C$1.63, yield 1.8%, ex-dividend May 13, payable June 2), and recent insider sales have reduced insider ownership to about 0.14%.

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$89.13 and last traded at C$90.22, with a volume of 114170 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$89.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MRU. Scotia reduced their target price on Metro from C$103.00 to C$96.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on Metro from C$106.00 to C$105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank cut Metro from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a C$103.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Metro has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$103.63.

Metro Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of C$19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$94.62 and a 200-day moving average of C$96.22.

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 return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 4.52%.The company had revenue of C$5.11 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current year.

Metro Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Metro news, insider Paolo Bravi sold 2,430 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total value of C$222,247.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,730 shares in the company, valued at C$1,804,505.80. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Dan Gabbard sold 2,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at C$1,193,294.48. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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. 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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