Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$94.38 and traded as low as C$90.58. Metro shares last traded at C$90.99, with a volume of 712,309 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MRU shares. Scotiabank cut Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$103.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Desjardins reduced their target price on Metro from C$99.00 to C$97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotia decreased their price target on Metro from C$103.00 to C$96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price target on Metro from C$101.00 to C$97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial set a C$105.00 price target on Metro and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Metro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$103.62.

Metro Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is C$90.49 and its 200-day moving average is C$94.26. The firm has a market cap of C$19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30.

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

Metro Announces Dividend

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