Metro (TSE:MRU) Cut to “Hold” at Scotiabank

Scotiabank cut shares of Metro (TSE:MRU) from an outperform rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Scotiabank currently has C$103.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MRU. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price target on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. National Bank Financial lowered their price target on shares of Metro from C$107.00 to C$106.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Desjardins lowered their price target on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$99.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Metro from C$115.00 to C$110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Metro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$106.25.

Metro Trading Down 1.3%

MRU opened at C$92.93 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.33. The stock has a market capitalization of C$19.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34. Metro has a 1-year low of C$89.64 and a 1-year high of C$109.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$95.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$96.35.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported C$1.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$5.29 billion during the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.93%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paolo Bravi sold 2,430 shares of Metro stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total transaction of C$222,247.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,804,505.80. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. Also, insider Richard Pruneau sold 2,018 shares of Metro stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$90.87, for a total transaction of C$183,375.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,433 shares in the company, valued at C$1,129,786.71. The trade was a 13.96% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 11,844 shares of company stock worth $1,096,119 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Metro

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. It utilizes an array of business models, but it most frequently acts as either a retailer, operating individual stores, or a franchiser, licensing its trademarks and supplying merchandise to franchisees.