Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average Following Insider Selling

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$28.08 and traded as high as C$36.15. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$36.13, with a volume of 193,551 shares.

Specifically, insider Olajumoke Fagbemi purchased 2,651 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$35.71 per share, with a total value of C$94,665.62. Following the purchase, the insider owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at C$95,665.48. This represents a 9,467.86% increase in their position.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MFI. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$31.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.50 to C$40.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. TD Securities boosted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$42.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$38.07.

Maple Leaf Foods Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of C$4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$32.30 and a 200 day moving average price of C$28.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is 63.89%.

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.