Metro (TSE:MRU) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $70.69

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$70.69 and traded as high as C$73.71. Metro shares last traded at C$72.72, with a volume of 312,026 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Metro from C$77.00 to C$74.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. TD Securities raised their target price on Metro from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. National Bankshares upped their price target on Metro from C$80.00 to C$81.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Metro from C$73.00 to C$75.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Metro from C$83.00 to C$82.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$77.21.

Metro Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.71. The company has a market cap of C$16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$71.99 and a 200-day moving average of C$70.72.

Metro (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported C$1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of C$0.99 by C$0.03. Metro had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 15.00%. The company had revenue of C$4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$4.86 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Metro Inc. will post 4.2641399 earnings per share for the current year.

Metro Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This is an increase from Metro's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Metro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.66%.

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.