Click-and-collect helps Metro adapt

Article Excerpt

METRO INC. $58 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 248.4 million; Market cap: $14.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 1.7%; 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. In the past few years, Metro has expanded its e-commerce and home delivery services. However, many of its stores that operate in less-populated areas don’t offer delivery due to the high costs. In response, the company is now accelerating the expansion of its click-and-collect service. It plans to provide this convenience at 170 stores by the end of 2021. That’s up from its original target of 100 stores. Metro is a buy. buy…