Metro (TSE:MRU) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$97.39 and traded as high as C$97.53. Metro shares last traded at C$97.31, with a volume of 389,685 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price target on Metro from C$105.00 to C$101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. National Bank Financial decreased their target price on Metro from C$107.00 to C$106.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Metro from C$115.00 to C$110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Desjardins lowered their target price on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$99.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$106.25.

Metro Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$97.36 and its 200-day moving average price is C$97.39. The firm has a market cap of C$20.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported C$1.16 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$5.29 billion during the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 13.80%. On average, analysts anticipate that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Metro news, insider Richard Pruneau sold 2,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$90.87, for a total value of C$183,375.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,129,786.71. This represents a 13.96% decrease in their position. Also, insider Paolo Bravi sold 2,430 shares of Metro stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total value of C$222,247.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,730 shares in the company, valued at C$1,804,505.80. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 8,866 shares of company stock valued at $808,236 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.