Metro (TSE:MRU) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as C$87.84 and last traded at C$88.14, with a volume of 648007 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$89.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities cut their price target on Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Metro from C$110.00 to C$105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank cut Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$103.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Metro from C$112.00 to C$113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotia lowered their price objective on Metro from C$103.00 to C$96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$103.63.

Metro Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of C$18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$93.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$95.87.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.11 earnings per share for the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 4.52%.The firm had revenue of C$5.11 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.4075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Metro’s payout ratio is currently 32.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dan Gabbard sold 2,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$96.67, for a total value of C$287,883.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,193,294.48. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Metro Company Profile

Metro is one of the largest grocery retailers in Canada. With its 2018 acquisition of Jean Coutu, it also boasts a meaningful drugstore footprint. Noteworthy grocery banners include Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, and Food Basics, while its pharmacies primarily operate under the Jean Coutu and Brunet trademarks. It utilizes an array of business models, but it most frequently acts as either a retailer, operating individual stores, or a franchiser, licensing its trademarks and supplying merchandise to franchisees.