Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$23.81 and traded as high as C$28.21. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$28.07, with a volume of 52,576 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MFI shares. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$26.00 to C$27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$34.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank upgraded Maple Leaf Foods to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. CIBC boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$29.00 to C$30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of C$31.80.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Up 0.6%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$26.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$23.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.03, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Maple Leaf Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Maple Leaf Foods's payout ratio is presently 324.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 28 shares in the company, valued at C$737.24. This represents a 99.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 39.87% of the company's stock.

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.