Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$109.13.

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRU shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Metro from C$108.00 to C$110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. National Bankshares cut their price objective on shares of Metro from C$110.00 to C$107.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Metro from C$115.00 to C$110.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Desjardins set a C$105.00 price target on shares of Metro and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th.

Metro Price Performance

Shares of TSE MRU opened at C$99.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$95.74 and a 200 day moving average price of C$100.18. The firm has a market cap of C$21.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29. Metro has a 1-year low of C$87.76 and a 1-year high of C$109.20.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported C$1.13 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$5.11 billion for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 4.50%. Research analysts predict that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Metro’s payout ratio is currently 31.21%.

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.