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

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$77.21.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. National Bankshares raised their price objective on Metro from C$80.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Metro from C$77.00 to C$74.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Metro from C$76.00 to C$78.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Metro from C$73.00 to C$75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Metro from C$83.00 to C$82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Metro Stock Performance

TSE:MRU opened at C$69.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 65.71. Metro has a fifty-two week low of C$65.43 and a fifty-two week high of C$78.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$72.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$70.66. The stock has a market cap of C$15.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.04.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported C$1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.99 by C$0.03. Metro had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 15.00%. The company had revenue of C$4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$4.86 billion. Analysts expect that Metro will post 4.2576393 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metro Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a positive change from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is 30.66%.

About Metro

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.