Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$106.25.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. National Bank Financial decreased their target price on shares of Metro from C$107.00 to C$106.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Desjardins decreased their price objective on Metro from C$105.00 to C$99.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Metro from C$115.00 to C$110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Genevi�Ve Bich sold 4,418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$91.13, for a total transaction of C$402,612.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,251,245.01. This represents a 11.02% decrease in their position. Also, insider Paolo Bravi sold 2,430 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total transaction of C$222,247.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,730 shares in the company, valued at C$1,804,505.80. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 11,844 shares of company stock worth $1,096,119 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Metro Stock Performance

Shares of TSE MRU opened at C$94.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of C$20.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.31. Metro has a 52-week low of C$89.64 and a 52-week high of C$109.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$96.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$96.38.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported C$1.16 EPS for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 4.44%.The company had revenue of C$5.29 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Metro will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.