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

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$35.93.

MFI has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$33.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. National Bankshares reduced their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$39.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$43.00 to C$42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$33.00 price target on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 27th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.00 to C$35.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 6th.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

Shares of MFI opened at C$25.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.50. Maple Leaf Foods has a 52-week low of C$20.47 and a 52-week high of C$36.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$25.20 and a 200 day moving average price of C$29.14.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported C$0.49 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$1.01 billion during the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 2.19%. Research analysts predict that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maple Leaf Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 58.02%.

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. The key brands are Maple Leaf and Schneiders, Maple Leaf Prime Naturally, Shopsy, Mitchell’s Gourmet Food, Larse, Parm, and Hygrade.