Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$28.52 and traded as high as C$35.04. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$34.64, with a volume of 222,390 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MFI shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.50 to C$40.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$42.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$38.50.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$33.06 and a 200-day moving average price of C$28.52. The firm has a market cap of C$4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.82.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Olajumoke Fagbemi purchased 2,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$35.71 per share, with a total value of C$94,665.62. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$95,665.48. This represents a 9,467.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Andreas Liris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$34.77, for a total value of C$34,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,001 shares in the company, valued at C$486,814.77. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. 39.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.