Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. Monro Muffler Brake had a positive return on equity of 2.69% and a negative net margin of 1.06%.The company had revenue of $293.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.19 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Monro Muffler Brake’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Monro Muffler Brake’s conference call:

• Monro reports clear operational momentum, delivering four consecutive quarters of positive comparable store sales and a 60 basis point year-over-year expansion in gross margin to 34.9%, signaling improving profitability trends.
• Management is scaling a multi-channel marketing push—expanded digital media, CRM activation, and call center support now covering over 830 stores—which they say has driven incremental calls, sales, and gross profit dollars and will roll out further.
• The company completed a major store optimization (145 underperforming stores closed) and has monetized real estate aggressively, exiting 57 leases and selling 25 locations for cumulative proceeds of $22.8 million YTD, with the disposition process expected to largely finish in upcoming quarters.
• Q3 results were mixed—total sales fell 4% (largely from store closures) but continuing-store comps rose 1.2% and tire sales were up 5%; adjusted operating income and adjusted EPS were slightly weaker year-over-year, reflecting transition costs and reinvestment in marketing.
• Financial position and liquidity remain strong with $48 million of cash from operations YTD, net bank debt of ~$40 million, approximately $425 million of available capacity on the credit facility, maintained dividend distributions, and $25–$35 million of planned capex.

Monro Muffler Brake Price Performance

MNRO stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.78. The stock had a trading volume of 36,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,180. Monro Muffler Brake has a twelve month low of $12.19 and a twelve month high of $21.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $563.63 million, a P/E ratio of -39.94, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.01.

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Monro Muffler Brake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -238.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monro Muffler Brake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Monro Muffler Brake in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Monro Muffler Brake from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Monro Muffler Brake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.67.

Insider Activity at Monro Muffler Brake

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn bought 639,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.19 per share, for a total transaction of $9,713,594.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,439,914 shares in the company, valued at $67,442,293.66. The trade was a 16.83% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 1,278,132 shares of company stock worth $20,815,969 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Monro Muffler Brake by 139.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,904 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 16,268 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Monro Muffler Brake during the 1st quarter valued at about $559,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Monro Muffler Brake by 85.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 79,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 36,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Monro Muffler Brake by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 141,635 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 7,464 shares during the last quarter.

About Monro Muffler Brake

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) is a leading provider of undercar repair and maintenance services for light vehicles in the United States. The company’s core offerings include brake systems, exhaust systems, steering and suspension repairs, tire sales and service, oil and lube changes, wheel alignment, multi-point inspections, and state vehicle inspections. Monro serves both retail customers and fleet accounts, focusing on fast, reliable service and preventive maintenance to help extend vehicle life and safety.

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Monro was originally founded in 1957 and has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.