Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of C$104.00

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$104.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Metro from C$111.00 to C$110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from C$105.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$112.00 price target on Metro and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, TD lifted their price target on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alain Tadros sold 960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$90.27, for a total value of C$86,659.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$537,287.04. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. Also, insider Simon Rivet sold 2,650 shares of Metro stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$89.35, for a total transaction of C$236,777.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,807,103.75. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Metro Stock Performance

Metro stock opened at C$97.04 on Friday. Metro has a 12-month low of C$86.63 and a 12-month high of C$101.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of C$20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$91.51 and its 200 day moving average price is C$92.63.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.24 earnings per share for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 12.87% and a net margin of 4.00%. The company had revenue of C$6.97 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Metro will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.94%.

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.