Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, National Bankshares Analyst Says

Key Points

• Maple Leaf Foods had its price target increased by National Bankshares from C$36.00 to C$39.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.17% from its previous close.
• Multiple brokerages have recently issued positive ratings for Maple Leaf Foods, with one analyst rating it a Strong Buy and the average price target now at C$38.50.
• The company's stock performance shows significant improvement, trading at C$35.40, with a fifty-two week range of C$19.61 to C$36.35.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by National Bankshares from C$36.00 to C$39.00 in a research note published on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$42.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of C$38.50.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

Shares of MFI traded down C$0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching C$35.07. The stock had a trading volume of 179,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,022. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of C$32.96 and a 200 day moving average of C$28.45. Maple Leaf Foods has a 12 month low of C$19.61 and a 12 month high of C$36.35. The firm has a market cap of C$4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.82.

Maple Leaf Foods Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

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.