Simon Rivet Sells 2,650 Shares of Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) insider Simon Rivet sold 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$89.35, for a total transaction of C$236,777.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,225 shares in the company, valued at C$1,807,103.75. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their position.

Metro Price Performance

MRU stock opened at C$88.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$90.97 and its 200-day moving average is C$92.01. The stock has a market capitalization of C$18.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.11. Metro Inc. has a 1 year low of C$86.63 and a 1 year high of C$101.30.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$1.24 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$6.97 billion during the quarter. Metro had a return on equity of 12.87% and a net margin of 4.00%. Equities research analysts expect that Metro Inc. will post 4.8188614 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.4075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Metro’s payout ratio is currently 36.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Metro from C$111.00 to C$110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. TD upped their price objective on shares of Metro from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Metro from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from C$105.00 to C$95.00 in a research note on Monday, July 20th. National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Metro from C$105.00 to C$102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Metro to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$102.33.

About Metro

With annual sales of more than $22 billion, METRO Inc is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, providing employment to more than 97,000 people. Its purpose is to Nourish the health and well-being of our communities. As a retailer, franchisor, distributor, manufacturer, and provider of eCommerce services, the company operates or services a network of some 1,000 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis and Première Moisson, and some 640 pharmacies primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners.