Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock Price Up 9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Maple Leaf Foods shares jumped 9% to C$30.67 on Thursday (intraday high C$30.79) on 127,865 shares traded, and the stock sits above its 50-day (C$29.20) and 200-day (C$27.03) moving averages.
• Analysts have been upgrading the stock and raising targets, leaving a consensus rating of Buy with a consensus target price of C$35.00 (individual targets include C$37 and C$35).
• Latest quarter showed C$0.34 EPS and C$962.85M revenue with a P/E of 7.28 and ROE of 35.43%, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.21 (annualized $0.84, ~2.7% yield).

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$30.79 and last traded at C$30.67. 127,865 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 306,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$28.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 target price on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded Maple Leaf Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of C$35.00.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 93.30, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$29.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$27.03. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Maple Leaf Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Maple Leaf Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.41%.

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. 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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