Metro (TSE:MRU) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$98.80 and traded as high as C$99.40. Metro shares last traded at C$98.27, with a volume of 299,118 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRU. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Metro from C$115.00 to C$110.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Desjardins set a C$105.00 target price on Metro and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Metro from C$108.00 to C$110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their price target on Metro from C$110.00 to C$107.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Metro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$109.13.

Metro Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$98.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$98.67. 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 capitalization of C$20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Metro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.21%.

Metro Company Profile

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. It utilizes an array of business models, but it most frequently acts as either a retailer, operating individual stores, or a franchiser, licensing its trademarks and supplying merchandise to franchisees.