Metro (TSE:MRU) Sets New 12-Month High at $82.92

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$82.92 and last traded at C$82.88, with a volume of 35264 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$81.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Metro from C$82.00 to C$84.00 in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on Metro from C$74.00 to C$75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Metro from C$74.50 to C$74.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Metro from C$80.00 to C$82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Metro from C$76.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Six investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$79.86.

Metro Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$75.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$73.00. The stock has a market capitalization of C$18.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.05.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported C$0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$0.91. Metro had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 4.64%. The firm had revenue of C$4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$4.63 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Metro Inc. will post 4.2740275 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.38%.

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.