Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$102.33.

MRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Metro from C$111.00 to C$110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. TD Securities raised Metro to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on Metro from C$105.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. TD upped their target price on Metro from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from C$105.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th.

Metro Stock Down 0.7%

Metro stock opened at C$88.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of C$18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$90.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$91.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.09. Metro has a 1-year low of C$86.63 and a 1-year high of C$101.30.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$6.97 billion during the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 12.87%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Metro

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

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.