Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Oppenheimer now has a $40.00 price target on the stock. Monro Muffler Brake traded as high as $22.81 and last traded at $22.5650, with a volume of 18627 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.32.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Monro Muffler Brake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Monro Muffler Brake from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Monro Muffler Brake in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter D. Fitzsimmons purchased 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.68 per share, with a total value of $250,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,809.44. This trade represents a 12.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MNRO. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,996 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Monro Muffler Brake by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Monro Muffler Brake by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 91,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 181.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 4,717 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Monro Muffler Brake by 5.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,635 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 7,464 shares in the last quarter.

Monro Muffler Brake Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $677.16 million, a PE ratio of -48.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03.

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $293.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.19 million. Monro Muffler Brake had a negative net margin of 1.06% and a positive return on equity of 2.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Monro Muffler Brake’s payout ratio is currently -238.30%.

About Monro Muffler Brake

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.