Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$36.42.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotia upped their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$36.00 price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ventum Capital upped their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial increased their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Transactions at Maple Leaf Foods

In related news, insider Randall Huffman sold 5,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$29.45, for a total transaction of C$149,458.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 89,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,622,345.80. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Adam John Grogan sold 32,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$29.37, for a total transaction of C$941,690.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,212,305.49. This represents a 43.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $350,102 and have sold 137,829 shares valued at $4,036,811. 39.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of MFI opened at C$27.67 on Tuesday. Maple Leaf Foods has a 52-week low of C$23.35 and a 52-week high of C$36.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$29.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$28.97. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.32.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

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.