Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$84.25.

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRU shares. Desjardins boosted their target price on Metro from C$75.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Metro from C$82.00 to C$84.00 in a research report on Friday, July 12th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. CIBC boosted their target price on Metro from C$77.00 to C$86.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded Metro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$80.00 to C$92.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Metro Price Performance

Shares of TSE MRU opened at C$86.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of C$19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.08. Metro has a fifty-two week low of C$65.43 and a fifty-two week high of C$87.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$82.42 and a 200-day moving average of C$76.45.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported C$1.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of C$1.35. Metro had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 4.36%. The business had revenue of C$6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$6.58 billion.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Metro’s payout ratio is currently 32.76%.

Metro Company Profile

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.