Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Oppenheimer now has a $40.00 price target on the stock. Monro Muffler Brake traded as high as $22.81 and last traded at $22.5650, with a volume of 18627 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.32.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Monro Muffler Brake from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monro Muffler Brake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Monro Muffler Brake in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monro Muffler Brake

In other news, CEO Peter D. Fitzsimmons acquired 12,750 shares of Monro Muffler Brake stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.68 per share, with a total value of $250,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,809.44. This trade represents a 12.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MNRO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Monro Muffler Brake by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 688,075 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,956,000 after acquiring an additional 68,862 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 5.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,635 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 7,464 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 124,222 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 72,204 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 2.8% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 91,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 85.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 79,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 36,734 shares during the last quarter.

Monro Muffler Brake Stock Up 1.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.50 and a 200 day moving average of $18.31. The company has a market capitalization of $707.87 million, a PE ratio of -50.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $293.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.19 million. Monro Muffler Brake had a positive return on equity of 2.69% and a negative net margin of 1.06%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. Monro Muffler Brake’s payout ratio is currently -238.30%.

Monro Muffler Brake Company Profile

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) is a leading provider of undercar repair and maintenance services for light vehicles in the United States. The company’s core offerings include brake systems, exhaust systems, steering and suspension repairs, tire sales and service, oil and lube changes, wheel alignment, multi-point inspections, and state vehicle inspections. Monro serves both retail customers and fleet accounts, focusing on fast, reliable service and preventive maintenance to help extend vehicle life and safety.

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Monro was originally founded in 1957 and has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.