Desjardins Reiterates “C$39.00” Price Target for Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI)

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) has been assigned a C$39.00 price target by stock analysts at Desjardins in a report issued on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Desjardins’ price target suggests a potential upside of 31.62% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotia upped their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial upped their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Maple Leaf Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$36.33.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

MFI stock traded up C$0.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting C$29.63. 86,171 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 302,048. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78. Maple Leaf Foods has a 52 week low of C$23.35 and a 52 week high of C$36.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$29.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$27.15. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.54.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.34 earnings per share for the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 36.56%. The firm had revenue of C$962.85 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maple Leaf Foods

In related news, insider Adam John Grogan sold 32,063 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$29.37, for a total value of C$941,690.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,277 shares in the company, valued at C$1,212,305.49. This represents a 43.72% decrease in their position. Also, Director Jonathan Wallace Ferguson Mccain bought 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$27.92 per share, with a total value of C$209,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 148,000 shares in the company, valued at C$4,132,160. This represents a 5.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $350,102 and have sold 142,699 shares valued at $4,176,580. 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. The key brands are Maple Leaf and Schneiders, Maple Leaf Prime Naturally, Shopsy, Mitchell’s Gourmet Food, Larse, Parm, and Hygrade.