Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Stock Price Up 9% – What’s Next?

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) shares rose 9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$30.79 and last traded at C$30.67. Approximately 127,865 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 306,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$28.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Ventum Financial set a C$37.00 target price on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Scotiabank upgraded Maple Leaf Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$32.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$35.00.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 93.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$29.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$27.03.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.34 earnings per share for the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a return on equity of 35.43% and a net margin of 11.76%.The business had revenue of C$962.85 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Maple Leaf Foods Inc. will post 1.4334187 earnings per share for the current year.

Maple Leaf Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Maple Leaf Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is currently 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.