Metro (TSE:MRU) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$89.14 and traded as high as C$95.25. Metro shares last traded at C$94.90, with a volume of 312,663 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRU shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Metro from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$92.00 to C$96.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Desjardins upped their price objective on Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$93.56.

Metro Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of C$21.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$92.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$89.21.

Metro Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Metro’s payout ratio is presently 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.