Stockchase Opinions

Jack CookMetro Inc (A)MRU.TOBUYAug 12, 2002

A good business to be in now.
$18.40

Stock price when the opinion was issued

$92.64

As of Jun 05, 2026. Market Open.

food stores
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TOP PICK

He sold this a while ago and has now added it back. As a defensive stock it is one of the better plays over the next one or two years.. It has done a good job of re-vamping its stores and most of its capital spending is done.     Buy 1  Hold 10  Sell 0

(Analysts’ price target is $77.60)
HOLD

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.

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Retail food business in Canada performing well in Canada.
Would buy stock on weakness.
Current share price valued high.
Sector will continue to perform well given nature of industry. 

WAIT

Very expensive, trading up near maximums. Be patient, let things fall to something that will give you a better rate of return.

WAIT

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%.

WAIT
High quality. Good package of grocery plus pharmacy. Very well run, reflected in ROE of 15-16%, better than most peers. Strong balance sheet, nice dividend. One knock is the multiple of 18x vs. market of 13x. Don't buy here. Wait for a pullback and buy for the long term.
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Curated by Allan Tong since 2019.
99+ opinions with 4.15 rating.

TOP PICK

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.

BUY
Top investment idea. Earl: Theme of return of capital and on capital. Solid balance sheet. Good, not aggressive, growth plans. Nice margins on the pharma side. Converting some stores to discount brands. You want a retailer that's focused on staples for the regular cashflow.
TOP PICK
Believes company is very predictable which results in consistent earnings. Company is a good hedge against volatility in the market. Ability for company to raise dividend is a major strength.
BUY
Pays a 1.6x dividend and trades at 15x earnings. They consistently raise dividends. Good leverage from their pharma distribution (Jean Coutu) and groceries. Coutu is a strong brand in Quebec and generates a lot of free cash flow. They will have to deal with food inflation, though. He likes it.
BUY ON WEAKNESS
It is one of a small group of major grocers in Canada, a really well managed company. He would buy it on any weakness. It is a good defensive stock to hold over the long term. He sold it recently because it had had a long run.
DON'T BUY
Defensive. Underperformed the broader TSX since last March. He prefers the cyclicals. Very competitive industry, low margins. 16x forward earnings, 8% long-term growth rate. Headwinds ahead of it, such as massive competitors and higher wages.
WAIT

MRU-T vs. EMP.A-T. Metro has been his favourite grocery stock for 15 years. Grocery are the stay-at-home stocks but as we exit the pandemic this is not where you want to be. Don’t buy until the rotation is completed.

WAIT

He has been a fan for 15 years but regrets not buying it. It has run up more than Loblaws so he would not get it now. Wait for a rotation out of grocery stocks and then at that point he would prefer this one to L-T.

BUY

You want defensive stocks right now. Big thing is Jean Coutu, and integration will create earnings and cash flow growth. More difficult issue is how to expand that brand beyond Quebec, and this is already priced into the stock. A defensive name, and you can do quite well. Yield is 1.7%.