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

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$84.25.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRU shares. Cfra upped their price target on shares of Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Metro from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Metro from C$82.00 to C$84.00 in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Metro from C$75.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

Metro Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MRU stock opened at C$83.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$83.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$77.80. Metro has a twelve month low of C$65.43 and a twelve month high of C$87.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of C$18.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported C$1.35 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.35. The company had revenue of C$6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.58 billion. Metro had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, research analysts predict that Metro will post 4.7104528 EPS for the current year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.76%.

Metro Company Profile

Metro Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer, franchisor, distributor, and manufacturer in the food and pharmaceutical sectors in Canada. The company operates supermarkets, discount, neighborhood, and specialty stores that provide fresh and grocery products, baked goods, prepared food products, meats, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, frozen food products, bakery products, delicatessen items, and pastries.