Metro (TSE:MRU) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$97.29 and last traded at C$97.21, with a volume of 44819 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$96.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRU. BMO Capital Markets raised Metro from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from C$92.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on shares of Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$93.56.

Metro Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$93.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$89.42. The firm has a market cap of C$21.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a PEG 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.

Metro Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.