Metro (TSE:MRU) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as C$89.13 and last traded at C$90.22, with a volume of 114170 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$89.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on Metro from C$106.00 to C$105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Metro from C$110.00 to C$105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank lowered Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$103.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Metro from C$112.00 to C$113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Desjardins decreased their target price on Metro from C$99.00 to C$97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$103.63.

Metro Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30. The firm has a market capitalization of C$19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$94.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$96.22.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 4.52%.The business had revenue of C$5.11 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.36%.

Insider Transactions at Metro

In other Metro news, insider Paolo Bravi sold 2,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total value of C$222,247.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,804,505.80. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. Also, insider Dan Gabbard sold 2,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$96.67, for a total value of C$287,883.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,193,294.48. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.