Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Monro Muffler Brake in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Monro Muffler Brake from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monro Muffler Brake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Monro Muffler Brake Trading Down 3.4%

Monro Muffler Brake stock opened at $20.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $613.61 million, a PE ratio of -30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Monro Muffler Brake has a 12-month low of $12.19 and a 12-month high of $22.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.76.

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The auto parts company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $288.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.04 million. Monro Muffler Brake had a positive return on equity of 2.77% and a negative net margin of 1.60%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Monro Muffler Brake will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Monro Muffler Brake’s payout ratio is currently -167.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn acquired 101,422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $1,772,856.56. Following the purchase, the insider owned 5,078,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,773,456.04. This trade represents a 2.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders purchased 1,278,132 shares of company stock worth $20,815,969 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 453.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Monro Muffler Brake during the second quarter worth about $221,000. TradeLink Capital LLC bought a new position in Monro Muffler Brake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Monro Muffler Brake by 139.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,904 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 16,268 shares during the period.

Monro Muffler Brake Company Profile

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.