Metro Inc

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional.

It is taking longer than I thought to get spreadsheets ready for posting. I first have to decide what stock to review. Next, I have to get the spreadsheet into shape to post. Lastly, I have to write a blog entry on the stock. This all takes time, and longer than I had originally thought it would.

This stock is on both the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats list (see http://www.dividendsmatter.com/constituents-of-sptsx-canadian-dividend-aristocrats/2007/11/26/ ) and the Dividend Achievers by Mergent’s at http://www.dividendachievers.com/. It is considered a dividend paying growth stock. Over the last 5 years, the dividends have increased at the rate of over 16% per year. In my RRSP account, my first dividend in 2002 was $44 per quarter. My dividends are now $200 per quarter.

I first purchased this stock in December 2001. It is almost 5% of my portfolio (over more than one account), so I will not be purchasing any more. It has had its ups and downs. Until the end of 2007, I was making a 10% annual return on this stock. Until the end of May 2008, I was making money on this stock this year. To today, because the recent drop, my return has dropped to a 7.5% annual return. But, we are only half way through the year, and at this point, it is hard to judge where the market is going.

This stock has fallen badly in June. Over the last year, it has not done as well as the TSX Composite or the TSX Consumer Staples indexes. Everyone seems to have a Hold rating on this stock. It has had some problems over the last year in competing with other stores, and it may well have problems competing with Wal-Mart. It is not expected to earn more EPS (earnings per share) this year than last. I will put up my spreadsheet tomorrow.