Insider Selling: Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Senior Officer Sells 3,600 Shares of Stock

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$26.33, for a total value of C$94,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$737.24. This represents a 99.23% decrease in their position.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

TSE:MFI traded up C$0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting C$27.12. 169,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 233,393. The company has a market cap of C$3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47. Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has a 1 year low of C$19.61 and a 1 year high of C$27.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$24.89 and a 200 day moving average price of C$23.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19.

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. This is an increase from Maple Leaf Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 324.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Maple Leaf Foods to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$34.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$29.00 to C$30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$26.00 to C$27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$31.80.

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.