Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, National Bank Financial Analyst Says

Key Points

• National Bank Financial raised its target on Maple Leaf Foods to C$37 (from C$35) and kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 24.9% upside, while other brokers have lifted targets leaving an average analyst price target of C$36.09 and a consensus "Buy".
• The stock fell 4.3% to C$29.63 on Friday, but trades at a low valuation (P/E ~6.97) with recent quarterly EPS of C$0.34 and a strong ROE of 35.43%, indicating solid fundamentals despite the pullback.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at National Bank Financial from C$35.00 to C$37.00 in a research note issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's price target suggests a potential upside of 24.87% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Maple Leaf Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$36.09.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Down 4.3%

TSE MFI traded down C$1.33 during trading on Friday, reaching C$29.63. 238,476 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,395. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$29.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$27.05. The stock has a market cap of C$3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.54. Maple Leaf Foods has a 1 year low of C$23.35 and a 1 year high of C$36.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 93.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.34 EPS for the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a return on equity of 35.43% and a net margin of 11.76%.The business had revenue of C$962.85 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. The key brands are Maple Leaf and Schneiders, Maple Leaf Prime Naturally, Shopsy, Mitchell's Gourmet Food, Larse, Parm, and Hygrade.

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