Analysts Set Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Price Target at C$34.57

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$34.57.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MFI. Scotiabank raised shares of Maple Leaf Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$33.00 price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th.

Maple Leaf Foods Trading Up 2.4%

TSE MFI opened at C$29.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 6.91, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$27.19 and its 200 day moving average is C$27.87. Maple Leaf Foods has a twelve month low of C$22.57 and a twelve month high of C$36.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 93.30.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported C$0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$991.24 million during the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a return on equity of 35.43% and a net margin of 11.76%. Research analysts forecast that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Maple Leaf Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is presently 21.41%.

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.