Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$36.33.

MFI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotia lifted their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Desjardins set a C$39.00 target price on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Maple Leaf Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jonathan Wallace Ferguson Mccain purchased 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director owned 148,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,132,160. The trade was a 5.34% increase in their position. Also, insider Randall Huffman sold 5,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,622,345.80. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 12,500 shares of company stock worth $350,102 and sold 142,699 shares worth $4,176,580. 39.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Up 1.3%

TSE MFI opened at C$29.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78. Maple Leaf Foods has a 1-year low of C$23.35 and a 1-year high of C$36.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$29.94 and a 200-day moving average of C$28.57. The company has a market cap of C$3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.34.

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

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 issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.