Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from C$29.00 to C$30.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Maple Leaf Foods traded as high as C$25.82 and last traded at C$25.55, with a volume of 571071 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$24.57.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities cut their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. National Bankshares upped their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$26.00 to C$27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maple Leaf Foods has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$31.08.

Maple Leaf Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.07, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$21.22 and a 200 day moving average of C$21.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 130.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Maple Leaf Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is currently 324.76%.

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.