Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Monro Muffler Brake from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Monro Muffler Brake in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.67.

Monro Muffler Brake Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MNRO opened at $21.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.48. Monro Muffler Brake has a 52-week low of $12.19 and a 52-week high of $22.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.70. The stock has a market cap of $634.92 million, a P/E ratio of -31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01.

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The auto parts company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $288.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.04 million. Monro Muffler Brake had a positive return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 1.60%.Monro Muffler Brake’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Analysts expect that Monro Muffler Brake will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. Monro Muffler Brake’s payout ratio is currently -167.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 101,422 shares of Monro Muffler Brake stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $1,772,856.56. Following the purchase, the insider owned 5,078,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,773,456.04. This trade represents a 2.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders bought 1,278,132 shares of company stock valued at $20,815,969 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 139.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,904 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 16,268 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Monro Muffler Brake by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Monro Muffler Brake during the first quarter valued at $559,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Monro Muffler Brake by 11.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 688,075 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,956,000 after acquiring an additional 68,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Monro Muffler Brake by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,635 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 7,464 shares during the period.

Monro Muffler Brake Company Profile

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) is a leading provider of undercar repair and maintenance services for light vehicles in the United States. The company’s core offerings include brake systems, exhaust systems, steering and suspension repairs, tire sales and service, oil and lube changes, wheel alignment, multi-point inspections, and state vehicle inspections. Monro serves both retail customers and fleet accounts, focusing on fast, reliable service and preventive maintenance to help extend vehicle life and safety.

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Monro was originally founded in 1957 and has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.