Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$36.33.

MFI has been the subject of several research reports. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 price target on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank raised Maple Leaf Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Desjardins set a C$39.00 price target on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Ventum Capital lifted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jonathan Wallace Ferguson Mccain acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$27.92 per share, for a total transaction of C$209,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 148,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,132,160. The trade was a 5.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Randall Huffman sold 5,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.45, for a total value of C$149,458.75. Following the transaction, the insider owned 89,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,622,345.80. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 12,500 shares of company stock worth $350,102 and have sold 142,699 shares worth $4,176,580. Insiders own 39.87% of the company’s stock.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

TSE:MFI opened at C$29.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of C$3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$29.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$27.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78. Maple Leaf Foods has a 1-year low of C$23.35 and a 1-year high of C$36.35.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.34 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$962.85 million during the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a return on equity of 36.56% and a net margin of 12.44%. Research analysts anticipate that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 earnings per share for the current year.

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Maple Leaf Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 20.90%.

About Maple Leaf Foods

Maple Leaf Foods Inc is a consumer-packaged meats company. It produces prepared meats and meals, fresh pork, and poultry and turkey products. The company also has agribusiness operations. These operations supply livestock to the meat products business operations. Its main markets are Canada, the United States, Japan, and China. The key brands are Maple Leaf and Schneiders, Maple Leaf Prime Naturally, Shopsy, Mitchell’s Gourmet Food, Larse, Parm, and Hygrade.