Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$109.13.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRU shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Metro from C$108.00 to C$110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Desjardins set a C$105.00 price target on shares of Metro and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Metro from C$115.00 to C$110.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, National Bankshares reduced their target price on Metro from C$110.00 to C$107.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th.

Metro Trading Up 1.5%

TSE MRU opened at C$99.88 on Friday. Metro has a 12 month low of C$87.76 and a 12 month high of C$109.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$95.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$100.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29. The company has a market capitalization of C$21.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.20.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported C$1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$5.11 billion for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 4.50%. Research analysts forecast that Metro will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current year.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 23rd. Metro’s payout ratio is 31.21%.

Metro Company Profile

Metro is one of the largest grocery retailers in Canada. With its 2018 acquisition of Jean Coutu, it also boasts a meaningful drugstore footprint. Noteworthy grocery banners include Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, and Food Basics, while its pharmacies primarily operate under the Jean Coutu and Brunet trademarks.