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

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

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRU. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Metro from C$82.00 to C$84.00 in a report on Friday, July 12th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Metro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from C$80.00 to C$92.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Metro from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Cfra increased their price target on shares of Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Metro Price Performance

MRU opened at C$83.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18. Metro has a 52-week low of C$65.43 and a 52-week high of C$87.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$84.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$79.06. The company has a market cap of C$18.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported C$1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$1.35. The firm had revenue of C$6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$6.58 billion. Metro had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.74%. On average, analysts expect that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Metro’s dividend 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.