Alain Tadros Sells 960 Shares of Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) insider Alain Tadros sold 960 shares of Metro stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$90.27, for a total value of C$86,659.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$537,287.04. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Metro Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of TSE:MRU opened at C$90.15 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is C$91.02 and its 200-day moving average is C$92.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.09, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.43. Metro Inc. has a 52 week low of C$86.63 and a 52 week high of C$101.30. The company has a market capitalization of C$18.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.11.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 12.87%. The business had revenue of C$6.97 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD boosted their target price on Metro from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from C$105.00 to C$95.00 in a research report on Monday, July 20th. TD Securities raised Metro to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Metro from C$111.00 to C$110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered their target price on Metro from C$105.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$102.33.

About Metro

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.