Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$22.46 and traded as high as C$23.69. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$23.65, with a volume of 130,651 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$26.00 to C$27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank raised shares of Maple Leaf Foods to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$29.00 to C$30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$31.08.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$23.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$22.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of C$3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 90.23, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is an increase from Maple Leaf Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Maple Leaf Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 324.76%.

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.