Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO) Rating Increased to Overweight at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Stephens currently has $18.00 target price on the auto parts company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $21.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Monro from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Monro from $27.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

Monro Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of MNRO stock opened at $15.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Monro has a 12-month low of $13.83 and a 12-month high of $31.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.32 million, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.80 and its 200 day moving average is $23.46.

Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The auto parts company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.12). Monro had a return on equity of 3.76% and a net margin of 1.64%. Research analysts expect that Monro will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Monro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.33%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Monro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 175.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Monro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Monro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,327,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Monro in the 4th quarter worth $28,899,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Monro by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,250 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $23,763,000 after acquiring an additional 20,420 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monro by 1,288.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,121 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,500,000 after acquiring an additional 130,954 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Monro during the fourth quarter worth about $272,000.

Monro Company Profile

Monro, Inc provides automotive undercar repair, and tire sales and services in the United States. It offers replacement tires and tire related services, automotive undercar repair services, and routine maintenance services primarily to passenger cars, light trucks, and vans. The company also provides other products and services for brakes; mufflers and exhaust systems; and steering, drive train, suspension, and wheel alignment.