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

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$97.29 and last traded at C$97.21, with a volume of 44819 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$96.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRU. Scotiabank increased their price target on Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. National Bankshares increased their target price 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 upped their price target on Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Metro from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from C$92.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$93.56.

Metro Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is C$93.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$89.64. 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 stock has a market capitalization of C$21.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

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 issued a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost from Metro's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Metro's payout ratio is 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.