Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Oppenheimer now has a $40.00 price target on the stock. Monro Muffler Brake traded as high as $22.81 and last traded at $22.5650, with a volume of 18627 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.32.

MNRO has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Monro Muffler Brake in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monro Muffler Brake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter D. Fitzsimmons acquired 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.68 per share, for a total transaction of $250,920.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 112,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,809.44. This trade represents a 12.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monro Muffler Brake

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNRO. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Monro Muffler Brake by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,996 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Monro Muffler Brake by 181.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 4,717 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Monro Muffler Brake in the second quarter valued at $221,000. TradeLink Capital LLC acquired a new position in Monro Muffler Brake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Monro Muffler Brake by 4.6% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter.

Monro Muffler Brake Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $677.16 million, a PE ratio of -48.42, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.23.

Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ:MNRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $293.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.19 million. Monro Muffler Brake had a positive return on equity of 2.69% and a negative net margin of 1.06%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Monro Muffler Brake, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monro Muffler Brake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. Monro Muffler Brake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -238.30%.

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.