Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$102.33.

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRU shares. TD upped their price objective on Metro from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Securities upgraded Metro to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. National Bank Financial reduced their price target on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of 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, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from C$105.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

Metro Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Metro stock opened at C$90.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.09. Metro has a 12-month low of C$86.63 and a 12-month high of C$101.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$91.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$92.27.

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

Metro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is 36.94%.

Metro Company Profile

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.