Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$94.44.

MRU has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Metro from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$92.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Metro from C$94.00 to C$102.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday.

Metro Price Performance

MRU traded up C$1.44 on Friday, hitting C$103.05. 212,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 499,921. The business's fifty day moving average is C$94.04 and its 200 day moving average is C$89.94. Metro has a fifty-two week low of C$69.19 and a fifty-two week high of C$103.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of C$22.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Metro's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Metro's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.93%.

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.