Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Maple Leaf Foods shares reached a new 52-week high of C$32.05, with analysts providing a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target of C$34.60.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding 3.0%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 324.76%.
• Insider selling occurred when Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares at an average price of C$26.33, significantly reducing their ownership in the company.

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$32.05 and last traded at C$31.55, with a volume of 97262 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$29.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MFI. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Canada raised shares of Maple Leaf Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Maple Leaf Foods presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of C$37.36.

Maple Leaf Foods Trading Down 0.1%

The business's 50-day moving average price is C$29.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$26.04. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 123.15, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Maple Leaf Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 324.76%.

Insider Activity at Maple Leaf Foods

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