Scotia Has Lowered Expectations for Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock Price

Metro (TSE:MRU) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Scotia from C$103.00 to C$96.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotia’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.65% from the company’s current price.

MRU has been the subject of several other reports. Desjardins cut their price target on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$99.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Metro from C$112.00 to C$113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on shares of Metro from C$101.00 to C$97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Metro from C$118.00 to C$113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Metro has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$103.63.

Metro Price Performance

TSE:MRU traded down C$0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$90.01. The stock had a trading volume of 241,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,125. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$95.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$96.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.33, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Metro has a one year low of C$89.30 and a one year high of C$109.20. The firm has a market capitalization of C$19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.34.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.11 EPS for the quarter. Metro had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of C$5.11 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Metro will post 4.8188614 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Metro

In other Metro news, insider Paolo Bravi sold 2,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$91.46, for a total value of C$222,247.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,804,505.80. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Genevi�Ve Bich sold 4,418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$91.13, for a total transaction of C$402,612.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$3,251,245.01. The trade was a 11.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold 11,844 shares of company stock worth $1,096,119 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Metro

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.