Opinions
The Monthly Gems by Allan Tong
Metro Inc (A)
MRU-T
TOP PICK
Jul 06, 2022
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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High quality grocery, plus now a major drugstore operator. Targeted marketing to customers results in a higher spend per basket. Impressive management, impressive returns. Good balance sheet. At 17x, more expensive than the market, so avoid. Instead, try NWC at 13x and a bigger yield at 4.5%.
Trading at market multiple. Raised dividend. Low-risk business, with only 3 grocery stores in Canada. Took advantage of increase in food prices, but now prices are coming down. Excess profit will be squeezed out. Won't lose money, but won't make it either for the next 2 years. Enjoy the dividend.
It's broken out since mid-July in a solid run. We're late in the overall cycle in which energy, materials and staples thrive, because this is when inflation comes back. Unfortunately, he expects inflation to return in 2025. Staples can pass on inflation to consumers.
Metro has two buys, five holds and a $74.29 price target that's 7.5% higher than the current price. Its 4.63% profit margin beats Weston's 4.11% and Empire's 2.69%, though Metro's gross margin lafs those peers. Again, you won't get rich buying Metro shares, but you can park your money here and see a safe, though modest return during all this volatility.