Gain from Metro’s shift

Article Excerpt

METRO INC., $56.54, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MRU; Shares o/s: 245.5 million; Market cap: $13.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Yield: 1.8%; www.metro.ca) operates 950 grocery stores and 650 drugstores, in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. The retailer continues to benefit as consumers eat more meals at home during the COVID-19 pandemic instead of going to restaurants. As well, more of its customers are ordering their groceries online. Metro earned $194.7 million, or $0.78 a share, in the quarter ended March 13, 2021. That’s up 6.5% from $182.8 million, or $0.72. Overall sales rose 5.1%, to $4.19 billion from $3.99 billion. Food same-store sales increased 5.5%. Online food sales soared 240% over the previous year. The company will likely earn $3.50 a share for all of fiscal 2021, and the stock trades at a reasonable 16.2 times that forecast. Metro Inc. remains a buy. buy…