Metro (TSE:MRU) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from C$99.00 to C$112.00. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Metro traded as high as C$103.79 and last traded at C$103.76, with a volume of 312826 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$102.08.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MRU. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Metro from C$90.00 to C$98.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on Metro from C$95.00 to C$105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Metro from C$99.00 to C$105.00 in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Metro from C$100.00 to C$110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Metro from C$96.00 to C$110.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$104.22.

Metro Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$96.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$91.35. The company has a market capitalization of C$22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.29, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Metro Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Metro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.