Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$30.00 and last traded at C$29.87, with a volume of 61223 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$29.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MFI. Stifel Canada raised Maple Leaf Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. CIBC boosted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities boosted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$38.00 to C$41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised Maple Leaf Foods to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$33.60.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$28.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$24.95. The firm has a market cap of C$3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Maple Leaf Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 324.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maple Leaf Foods

In related news, Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$26.33, for a total value of C$94,788.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28 shares in the company, valued at C$737.24. This represents a 99.23% decrease in their position. 39.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.