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

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$103.63.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRU shares. Scotia cut their price target on shares of Metro from C$103.00 to C$96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their target price on shares of Metro from C$101.00 to C$97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Desjardins dropped their target price on shares of Metro from C$99.00 to C$97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank cut shares of Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$103.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial dropped their target price on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Metro Stock Performance

TSE MRU opened at C$92.98 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$90.54 and its 200-day moving average price is C$94.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30. The stock has a market cap of C$19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.19. Metro has a 12 month low of C$86.63 and a 12 month high of C$107.78.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.11 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$5.11 billion for the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.38%. Equities research analysts forecast that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current year.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.36%.

About Metro

With annual sales of more than $22 billion, METRO Inc is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, providing employment to more than 97,000 people. Its purpose is to Nourish the health and well-being of our communities. As a retailer, franchisor, distributor, manufacturer, and provider of eCommerce services, the company operates or services a network of some 1,000 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis and Première Moisson, and some 640 pharmacies primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners.