National Bank Financial Expects Higher Earnings for Metro

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU - Free Report) - Analysts at National Bank Financial boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Metro in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, January 12th. National Bank Financial analyst V. Shreedhar now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $1.22 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.20. The consensus estimate for Metro's current full-year earnings is $4.82 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Metro's Q2 2026 earnings at $1.13 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.26 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.30 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.82 EPS.

MRU has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group set a C$98.00 price objective on shares of Metro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Metro from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. National Bankshares lifted their price target on Metro from C$89.00 to C$94.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Metro from C$85.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$89.33.

Metro Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of TSE MRU traded down C$1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching C$89.04. The company had a trading volume of 392,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,648. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$90.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$85.29. Metro has a 52-week low of C$67.85 and a 52-week high of C$94.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18. The stock has a market cap of C$19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Metro's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.