National Bank Financial Boosts Earnings Estimates for Metro

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial lifted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Metro in a research note issued on Sunday, January 12th. National Bank Financial analyst V. Shreedhar now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.09 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.07. The consensus estimate for Metro’s current full-year earnings is $4.82 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Metro’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.14 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.76 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MRU. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. National Bankshares raised their price objective on Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group set a C$98.00 price objective on Metro and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Desjardins upped their target price on Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Metro from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Metro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$89.33.

Metro Stock Performance

Shares of MRU opened at C$89.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18. Metro has a 52-week low of C$67.85 and a 52-week high of C$94.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$90.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$85.39. The company has a market capitalization of C$19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.76%.

About Metro

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.