National Bankshares Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) had its price objective upped by National Bankshares from C$36.00 to C$39.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$36.50 to C$40.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Canada upgraded Maple Leaf Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$38.50.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

MFI opened at C$35.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$32.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$28.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19. Maple Leaf Foods has a fifty-two week low of C$19.61 and a fifty-two week high of C$36.35.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, insider Olajumoke Fagbemi bought 2,651 shares of Maple Leaf Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$35.71 per share, for a total transaction of C$94,665.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 2,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$95,665.48. The trade was a 9,467.86% increase in their position. Also, insider Andreas Liris sold 1,000 shares of Maple Leaf Foods stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 14,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$486,814.77. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 39.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Maple Leaf Foods Company Profile

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.