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

Key Points

• Analysts give Maple Leaf Foods a consensus "Buy" rating (five buys, one strong-buy) with an average 1‑year price target of C$34.57, and recent upgrades/target raises from firms including Stifel and National Bank Financial.
• Shares trade around C$28.86 (52‑week range C$22.57–C$36.35) with a low P/E of 6.8; the company reported C$0.32 EPS and C$991M revenue for the quarter, showing strong profitability (ROE 35.4%, net margin 11.8%).
• Maple Leaf Foods raised its quarterly dividend to $0.21 ($0.84 annualized), a 2.9% yield and a 21.4% payout ratio, with an ex‑dividend date of March 9.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$34.57.

MFI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial raised their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$33.00 price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 27th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Maple Leaf Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of MFI stock opened at C$28.86 on Friday. Maple Leaf Foods has a fifty-two week low of C$22.57 and a fifty-two week high of C$36.35. The firm has a market capitalization of C$3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 93.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is C$26.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$28.10.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported C$0.32 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$991.24 million during the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a return on equity of 35.43% and a net margin of 11.76%. Equities analysts expect that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 earnings per share for the current year.

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Maple Leaf Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Maple Leaf Foods's payout ratio is 21.41%.

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.

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