This grocery retailer continues to impress

Article Excerpt

Shares of grocery retailer Metro have gained nearly 20% in the past year and are now just below their all-time high of $74 in April 2022. That gain is largely because consumers continue to eat more of their meals at home despite the re-opening of restaurants. Metro will also continue to benefit from new automated warehouses that cut its labour costs. Those savings will let it keep rewarding investors with higher dividends and share buybacks. METRO INC. $70 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 240.0 million; Market cap: $16.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) operates 960 grocery stores and 650 drugstores, in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. In May 2018, Metro acquired Quebec-based drugstore chain Jean Coutu Group. The company paid $4.5 billion—75% in cash and 25% in shares. As a result of the new operations, its sales rose 38.8%, from $13.18 billion in 2017 to $18.28 billion in 2021…