Analysts Set Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Target Price at C$106.25

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$106.25.

MRU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Metro from C$115.00 to C$110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Metro from C$112.00 to C$113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price objective on Metro from C$105.00 to C$101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Desjardins lowered their target price on Metro from C$105.00 to C$99.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dan Gabbard sold 2,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$96.67, for a total transaction of C$287,883.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,344 shares in the company, valued at C$1,193,294.48. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Also, insider Richard Pruneau sold 2,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$90.87, for a total transaction of C$183,375.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,129,786.71. This trade represents a 13.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold a total of 11,844 shares of company stock valued at $1,096,119 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Metro Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of MRU stock opened at C$97.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$97.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$97.05. Metro has a twelve month low of C$89.64 and a twelve month high of C$109.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of C$20.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.13.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported C$1.16 EPS for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 4.50%.The company had revenue of C$5.29 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Metro will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current year.

Metro Company Profile

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.