Metro (TSE:MRU) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Metro Inc. (TSE:MRU) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$78.07 and traded as high as C$84.62. Metro shares last traded at C$84.10, with a volume of 436,024 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRU shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Metro from C$82.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Metro from C$85.00 to C$88.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Cfra lifted their price target on Metro from C$76.00 to C$85.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. CIBC lifted their price target on Metro from C$77.00 to C$86.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities raised Metro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from C$80.00 to C$92.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$84.25.

Metro Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$18.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$83.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$78.07.

Metro (TSE:MRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported C$1.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.35. The firm had revenue of C$6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.58 billion. Metro had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 4.36%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Metro Inc. will post 4.7104528 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Metro’s dividend payout ratio is 32.76%.

About Metro

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.