Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$102.33.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRU. TD Securities raised shares of Metro to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Metro from C$111.00 to C$110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on Metro from C$105.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from C$105.00 to C$95.00 in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD upped their price target on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Alain Tadros sold 960 shares of Metro stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$90.27, for a total value of C$86,659.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$537,287.04. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. Also, insider Simon Rivet sold 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$89.35, for a total transaction of C$236,777.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,807,103.75. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Metro Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:MRU opened at C$88.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is C$90.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$91.98. The company has a market cap of C$18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.09, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.43. Metro has a one year low of C$86.63 and a one year high of C$101.30.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$6.97 billion during the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 12.87%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.94%.

Metro Company Profile

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.