Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock

Key Points

• Scotiabank has increased its target price for Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$35.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.36% from its current price.
• Other analysts, including CIBC and TD Securities, have also raised their price targets for Maple Leaf Foods, with the consensus target price now at C$37.36.
• Insider trading activity was reported, with a senior officer selling 3,600 shares, resulting in a significant reduction of their ownership in the company.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Scotiabank from C$30.00 to C$35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MFI. TD Securities increased their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. CIBC increased their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Canada raised Maple Leaf Foods to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$31.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$37.36.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

TSE:MFI traded up C$0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching C$33.60. 41,417 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 208,350. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$29.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$26.04. Maple Leaf Foods has a 52 week low of C$19.61 and a 52 week high of C$33.60. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.00, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Maple Leaf Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 324.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares of the firm's 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 value of C$94,788.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$737.24. This trade represents a 99.23% decrease in their position. Company insiders own 39.87% of the company's stock.

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.