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

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$36.33.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial increased their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Scotia increased their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Ventum Capital lifted their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods stock opened at C$31.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$29.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$27.89. Maple Leaf Foods has a 12-month low of C$23.35 and a 12-month high of C$36.35.

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

Maple Leaf Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, insider Andreas Liris sold 4,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$28.70, for a total value of C$139,769.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$373,100. The trade was a 27.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Adam John Grogan sold 32,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.37, for a total value of C$941,690.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,212,305.49. This represents a 43.72% decrease in their position. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $350,102 and have sold 142,699 shares valued at $4,176,580. Company insiders own 39.87% of the company’s stock.

Maple Leaf Foods Company Profile

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.