Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$103.62.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRU. Scotiabank cut Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$103.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Scotia decreased their price objective on Metro from C$103.00 to C$96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of Metro from C$99.00 to C$97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. National Bank Financial set a C$105.00 price objective on shares of Metro and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Metro from C$110.00 to C$105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Metro Stock Performance

Shares of Metro stock opened at C$94.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is C$90.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$93.75. The company has a market capitalization of C$19.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30. Metro has a 52 week low of C$86.63 and a 52 week high of C$107.78.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 4.52%.The business had revenue of C$5.11 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.36%.

About Metro

With annual sales of more than $22 billion, METRO Inc is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, providing employment to more than 97,000 people. Its purpose is to Nourish the health and well-being of our communities. As a retailer, franchisor, distributor, manufacturer, and provider of eCommerce services, the company operates or services a network of some 1,000 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis and Première Moisson, and some 640 pharmacies primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners.