Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$36.33.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotia lifted 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 report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial upped their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Ventum Capital raised their price target 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. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 price target on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Desjardins set a C$39.00 price objective on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Adam John Grogan sold 32,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.37, for a total transaction of C$941,690.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,277 shares in the company, valued at C$1,212,305.49. The trade was a 43.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Andreas Liris sold 4,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 27.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 12,500 shares of company stock worth $350,102 and sold 142,699 shares worth $4,176,580. Corporate insiders own 39.87% of the company’s stock.

Maple Leaf Foods Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MFI stock opened at C$28.27 on Friday. Maple Leaf Foods has a 12 month low of C$23.35 and a 12 month high of C$36.35. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is C$29.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$28.70. The company has a market cap of C$3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.34.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.34 earnings per share 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. Equities analysts predict that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 EPS for the current year.

Maple Leaf Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.