Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Upgraded at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Oppenheimer currently has $40.00 target price on the auto parts company’s stock.

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

Monro Muffler Brake Price Performance

Shares of MNRO opened at $23.81 on Wednesday. Monro Muffler Brake has a fifty-two week low of $12.19 and a fifty-two week high of $23.91. The company has a market capitalization of $714.78 million, a P/E ratio of -50.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.45.

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

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Monro Muffler Brake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -238.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter D. Fitzsimmons purchased 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.68 per share, for a total transaction of $250,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 112,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,204,809.44. This trade represents a 12.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 139.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,904 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 16,268 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Monro Muffler Brake by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Monro Muffler Brake in the 1st quarter worth approximately $559,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 688,075 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $9,956,000 after buying an additional 68,862 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 5.6% in 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 during the last quarter.

About Monro Muffler Brake

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.