Analysts Set Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Target Price at C$31.80

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$31.80.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MFI. National Bankshares increased their price target 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. Scotiabank raised Maple Leaf Foods to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. TD Securities raised their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$34.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$29.00 to C$30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, Senior Officer Olajumoke Fagbemi sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 28 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$737.24. The trade was a 99.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders own 39.87% of the company’s stock.

Maple Leaf Foods Trading Up 1.2%

TSE:MFI opened at C$27.08 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of C$19.61 and a 1-year high of C$27.98. The firm has a market capitalization of C$3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$24.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$23.06.

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Maple Leaf Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is currently 324.76%.

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.