Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) PT Set at C$36.00 by Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage of Maple Leaf Foods with a C$36.00 price target and a buy rating, implying about 20.9% upside from the current share price.
• Several other analysts have recently turned positive or raised targets, leaving Maple Leaf Foods with an overall Buy consensus and an average price target of C$36.33.
• The stock was trading at C$29.77 on Thursday after falling C$1.17, while the company reported quarterly EPS of C$0.34 on revenue of C$962.85 million.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) received a C$36.00 target price from equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.93% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Scotia upped their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Securities upgraded Maple Leaf Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Maple Leaf Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maple Leaf Foods presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$36.33.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

TSE:MFI traded down C$1.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$29.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,750. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$29.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$28.39. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Maple Leaf Foods has a twelve month low of C$23.35 and a twelve month high of C$36.35.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.34 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$962.85 million during the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a return on equity of 36.56% and a net margin of 12.44%. On average, analysts anticipate that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, Director Curtis Eugene Frank sold 96,191 shares of Maple Leaf Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.25, for a total transaction of C$2,813,586.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 101,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$2,967,968.25. The trade was a 48.66% decrease in their position. Also, Director Jonathan Wallace Ferguson Mccain purchased 7,500 shares of Maple Leaf Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$27.92 per share, for a total transaction of C$209,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 148,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,132,160. The trade was a 5.34% increase in their position. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $350,102 and sold 142,699 shares valued at $4,176,580. Company insiders own 39.87% of the company's stock.

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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