Metro aims for more buybacks

Article Excerpt

METRO INC. $65 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 244.1 million; Market cap: $15.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) operates 950 grocery stores and 650 drugstores (mainly under the Jean Coutu banner), in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. The stock held up well during the pandemic as governments designated its supermarkets and drugstores essential services for consumers stocking up on food and other goods. In fact, it hit a new all-time high of $65.85 on August 3, 2021. That jump is partly due to Metro’s share buybacks. The company recently added 1.5 million shares to its current authorization after repurchasing the maximum of 7.0 million shares (for a total of $403.7 million) under the initial plan. This new authorization expires November 24, 2021. Metro is a buy. buy. …