Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock Rating Lowered by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Metro (TSE:MRU - Free Report) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MRU. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Metro from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a report on Friday. Cfra increased their target price on shares of Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$87.50.

Metro Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:MRU traded up C$0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$89.73. The stock had a trading volume of 471,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,309. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is C$84.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$80.80. The firm has a market capitalization of C$19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. Metro has a 1-year low of C$65.43 and a 1-year high of C$90.72.

Metro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Metro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.76%.

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.