Metro (TSE:MRU) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$95.31 and last traded at C$95.26, with a volume of 175288 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$92.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Metro from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. CIBC raised their target price on Metro from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Metro from C$98.00 to C$99.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Metro from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$93.56.

Metro Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29. The stock has a market capitalization of C$21.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is C$91.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$87.64.

Metro Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.93%.

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.