Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

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) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$32.05 and last traded at C$31.55, with a volume of 97262 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$29.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MFI. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$38.00 to C$41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. CIBC upped their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Canada raised shares of Maple Leaf Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of C$34.60.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.09, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19. The stock's 50-day moving average is C$28.75 and its 200-day moving average is C$25.73.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Maple Leaf Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 324.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 28 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately 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.

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