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

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$109.13.

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

Metro Trading Down 0.1%

TSE MRU opened at C$99.80 on Friday. Metro has a 12 month low of C$87.76 and a 12 month high of C$109.20. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$96.15 and its 200-day moving average price is C$100.00. The stock has a market cap of C$21.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.16.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 4.50%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Metro will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.21%.

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.