Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $40.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MNRO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Monro Muffler Brake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Monro Muffler Brake in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.25.

Monro Muffler Brake Trading Up 8.7%

Shares of MNRO opened at $23.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $695.56 million, a P/E ratio of -49.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Monro Muffler Brake has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $23.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.27.

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $293.39 million for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Monro Muffler Brake will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Monro Muffler Brake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -238.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter D. Fitzsimmons acquired 12,750 shares of Monro Muffler Brake stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,204,809.44. The trade was a 12.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 688,075 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,956,000 after purchasing an additional 68,862 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Monro Muffler Brake by 5.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,635 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,049,000 after buying an additional 7,464 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Monro Muffler Brake by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 124,222 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 72,204 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 2.8% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 91,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 85.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 79,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 36,734 shares during the period.

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.