Metro (TSE:MRU) Shares Cross Below 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$95.74 and traded as low as C$89.03. Metro shares last traded at C$90.06, with a volume of 461,656 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotia dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Scotiabank lowered Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$103.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Finally, TD Securities dropped their target price on Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$103.63.

Metro Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$92.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$95.74. The firm has a market cap of C$19.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Metro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a $0.4075 dividend. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.36%.

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.