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

Key Points

• Maple Leaf Foods shares surpassed their 200-day moving average, trading at C$29.24, while the high for the day reached C$29.61.
• Analysts have shown optimism, with TD Securities raising their target price to C$41.00 and a general average rating of "Buy" across multiple firms.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24, leading to an annualized yield of 3.3%, although it has a high payout ratio of 324.76%.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$25.46 and traded as high as C$29.61. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$29.24, with a volume of 145,920 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities increased their target price on 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. Stifel Canada upgraded Maple Leaf Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Maple Leaf Foods has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$33.60.

Maple Leaf Foods Trading Down 1.4%

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 50-day moving average price of C$28.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$25.51. The stock has a market cap of C$3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 107.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Maple Leaf Foods's payout ratio is presently 324.76%.

Insider Transactions at Maple Leaf Foods

In other news, Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares of the 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 transaction of C$94,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$737.24. This represents a 99.23% decrease in their position. 39.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.