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

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$93.56.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRU. CIBC increased their target price on Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Metro from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$92.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Metro from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Metro Price Performance

TSE MRU opened at C$96.13 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$92.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$88.60. Metro has a 52-week low of C$69.19 and a 52-week high of C$97.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of C$21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. This is an increase from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is 30.93%.

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.