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

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$93.56.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC lifted their price target on Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Desjardins lifted their target price on Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Metro from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$92.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Metro Stock Performance

TSE MRU opened at C$91.73 on Friday. Metro has a 12-month low of C$68.12 and a 12-month high of C$94.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$91.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$86.74. The company has a market capitalization of C$20.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18.

Metro Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.76%.

Metro Company Profile

Metro Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer, franchisor, distributor, and manufacturer in the food and pharmaceutical sectors in Canada. The company operates supermarkets, discount, neighborhood, and specialty stores that provide fresh and grocery products, baked goods, prepared food products, meats, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, frozen food products, bakery products, delicatessen items, and pastries.