Why is the Metcash share price in reverse today?

The Aussie share market is heading north today despite Wall Street recording another loss overnight.

Investors are defying the sell-off that occurred on the United States-based Nasdaq ahead of the major reports due this week.

In case you weren't aware, United States inflation readings for June are set to be released this Wednesday along with the domestic jobs data on Thursday.

In early morning trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is climbing by around 0.70% to 6,647.20 points.

Nonetheless, the Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) share price is treading the opposite way.

At the time of writing, the wholesale distributor's shares are down 2.55% to $4.21.

Shareholders lock in the Metcash dividend

Following the company's full-year results released late last month, investors are eyeing Metcash shares as they go ex-dividend today.

This means if you purchased the company's shares yesterday or before, you will be eligible for the latest dividend.

Traditionally, when a company reaches its ex-dividend day, its shares tend to fall in proportion to the dividend paid out. This is because investors try to make a quick profit after securing the dividend.

For those eligible for the Metcash FY22 dividend, shareholders will receive a payment of 11 cents per share on 10 August.

The dividend reflects an increase of almost 16% when compared to the prior corresponding period (9.5 cents per share).

Furthermore, the dividend is fully franked at a corporate tax rate of 30%, which means investors will receive tax credits.

Under the company's capital management framework, the targeted payout ratio is around 70% of underlying profit after tax.

Shareholder distributions totalled $408 million in FY22.

Are Metcash shares still a buy?

Following the financial scorecard for the full year, analysts at Macquarie weighed in on Metcash shares.

According to ANZ Share Investing, the broker raised its 12-month price target by 2.2% to $4.60 for the company's shares.

In addition, Citi also lifted its rating by 4.8% to $4.40 apiece for Metcash shares.

It appears both brokers are in line with what investors believe the company's shares should be worth in the current climate.

Metcash share price snapshot

Since the beginning of 2022, Metcash shares have lost 4% on the back of weakened investor sentiment.

However, the benchmark ASX 200 index is down almost 12% over the same time frame.

Metcash has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.30 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $4.16 billion.