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

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six 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 brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$93.56.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Desjardins lifted their target price on shares of Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Metro from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from C$92.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Metro Stock Down 1.0 %

Metro stock opened at C$91.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$20.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. Metro has a 52-week low of C$68.12 and a 52-week high of C$94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$91.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$86.74.

Metro Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Metro’s dividend payout ratio 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.