Metro (TSE:MRU) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from C$84.00 to C$90.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a buy rating on the stock. Metro traded as high as C$87.24 and last traded at C$87.01, with a volume of 74164 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$86.16.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MRU. National Bankshares raised their price objective on Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Metro from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. TD Securities raised shares of Metro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$80.00 to C$92.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Cfra increased their price target on shares of Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Metro from C$75.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$85.00.

Metro Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$84.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$79.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18. The stock has a market cap of C$19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported C$1.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.35. Metro had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 4.36%. The firm had revenue of C$6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.58 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.76%.

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.