Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Desjardins

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) had its target price decreased by Desjardins from C$39.00 to C$36.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,BayStreet reports. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on MFI. TD Securities upgraded shares of Maple Leaf Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$39.00 to C$37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Ventum Financial dropped their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$39.00 to C$37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$36.00 price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, National Bank Financial decreased their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.00 to C$34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maple Leaf Foods presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$36.08.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MFI stock opened at C$24.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$26.47 and its 200 day moving average price is C$28.59. Maple Leaf Foods has a 1-year low of C$23.35 and a 1-year high of C$31.87. The company has a market cap of C$3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 97.47, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$0.44 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$1.02 billion during the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a return on equity of 36.83% and a net margin of 13.08%. On average, research analysts expect that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Maple Leaf Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maple Leaf Foods

In other news, Director Andrew Gordon Macdonald acquired 10,000 shares of Maple Leaf Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$26.78 per share, for a total transaction of C$267,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 72,200 shares in the company, valued at C$1,933,516. This trade represents a 16.08% increase in their position. Corporate insiders own 39.87% of the company’s stock.

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.