Short Interest in Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO) Expands By 22.7%

Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,320,000 shares, a growth of 22.7% from the February 13th total of 3,520,000 shares. Currently, 14.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 744,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monro in the third quarter worth $830,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Monro during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,327,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Monro during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,205,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Monro in the third quarter worth about $515,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,899,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Monro in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Monro from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Monro in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Monro Trading Up 0.7 %

Monro stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $16.98. The company had a trading volume of 59,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,405. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.19. Monro has a 12-month low of $15.75 and a 12-month high of $32.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.31. The firm has a market cap of $508.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.09.

Monro (NASDAQ:MNRO) last announced 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 net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 3.76%. Equities analysts forecast that Monro will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Monro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.60%. Monro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.00%.

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.