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

Shares of Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$96.00.

Several analysts recently commented on MRU shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Metro from C$96.00 to C$110.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Metro from C$94.00 to C$102.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Metro Price Performance

TSE:MRU opened at C$100.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$22.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$94.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$90.15. Metro has a 12 month low of C$69.19 and a 12 month high of C$103.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29.

Metro Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. 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.