Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$28.57 and traded as high as C$29.45. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$29.33, with a volume of 208,250 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities raised Maple Leaf Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$39.00 price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Maple Leaf Foods has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$36.33.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$29.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$28.57.

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

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Randall Huffman sold 5,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.45, for a total transaction of C$149,458.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 89,044 shares in the company, valued at C$2,622,345.80. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their position. Also, Director Curtis Eugene Frank sold 96,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$29.25, for a total value of C$2,813,586.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 101,469 shares in the company, valued at C$2,967,968.25. This trade represents a 48.66% decrease in their position. In the last three months, insiders purchased 12,500 shares of company stock worth $350,102 and sold 142,699 shares worth $4,176,580. 39.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.