Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Receives C$38.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has an average rating of "Buy" from eight research firms, with one strong buy and six buy ratings.
• The average 12-month price target for the stock among brokerages is C$38.50, with several analysts raising their price objectives recently.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 63.89%.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$38.50.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MFI shares. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$42.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.50 to C$40.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, insider Andreas Liris sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$34.77, for a total value of C$34,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$486,814.77. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. Also, insider Olajumoke Fagbemi purchased 2,651 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$35.71 per share, with a total value of C$94,665.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at C$95,665.48. The trade was a 9,467.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 39.87% of the company's stock.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

MFI stock traded up C$0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching C$35.09. 85,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 218,192. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of C$4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.82. Maple Leaf Foods has a 52-week low of C$19.61 and a 52-week high of C$36.35. The stock's 50 day moving average price is C$33.17 and its 200 day moving average price is C$28.64.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Maple Leaf Foods's payout ratio is 63.89%.

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.