National Bank Financial Expects Weaker Earnings for Metro

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Free Report) - National Bank Financial dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Metro in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 20th. National Bank Financial analyst V. Shreedhar now expects that the company will earn $1.07 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.11. The consensus estimate for Metro's current full-year earnings is $4.82 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Metro's Q3 2025 earnings at $1.53 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.12 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.69 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.28 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.29 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.81 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MRU. Cfra increased their target price on Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. National Bankshares increased their target price on Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Metro from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Desjardins increased their target price on Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$87.50.

Metro Stock Up 0.8 %

MRU stock traded up C$0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$89.73. The stock had a trading volume of 471,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,309. The firm has a market cap of C$19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$84.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$80.68. Metro has a 52-week low of C$65.43 and a 52-week high of C$90.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Metro Announces Dividend

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