Metro (TSE:MRU) Downgraded by BMO Capital Markets to Market Perform

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Metro (TSE:MRU) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has C$95.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of C$105.00.

MRU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Desjardins decreased their price target on shares of Metro from C$99.00 to C$97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price objective on shares of Metro from C$101.00 to C$97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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. National Bank Financial set a C$105.00 target price on Metro and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Scotia lowered their target price on Metro from C$103.00 to C$96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$102.38.

Metro Trading Down 1.8%

MRU stock opened at C$92.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$91.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$93.68. Metro has a one year low of C$86.63 and a one year high of C$107.78. The stock has a market cap of C$19.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.16.

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

Metro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is 32.36%.

Metro Company Profile

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.