Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Maple Leaf Foods shares surpassed their 200-day moving average, reaching as high as C$36.15, following insider buying activities, notably a purchase by insider Olajumoke Fagbemi of 2,651 shares.
• Multiple brokerages have raised their target prices for Maple Leaf Foods, with National Bankshares increasing its price target to C$36.00 and TD Securities to C$47.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Buy."
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, scheduled for payment on September 29th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$28.08 and traded as high as C$36.15. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$36.13, with a volume of 193,551 shares traded.

Specifically, insider Olajumoke Fagbemi bought 2,651 shares of Maple Leaf Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$35.71 per share, with a total value of C$94,665.62. Following the purchase, the insider owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at C$95,665.48. This represents a 9,467.86% increase in their ownership of the stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MFI shares. Stifel Canada raised Maple Leaf Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. CIBC upped their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Securities upped their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$42.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.50 to C$40.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Maple Leaf Foods currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of C$38.50.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$32.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$28.29. 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$4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.82.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Maple Leaf Foods's payout ratio is 63.89%.

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.