Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$22.29 and traded as high as C$25.11. Maple Leaf Foods shares last traded at C$24.92, with a volume of 181,052 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MFI. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$29.00 to C$30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$26.00 to C$27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$30.00 to C$32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$31.08.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 91.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is C$23.18 and its 200 day moving average price is C$22.29. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. This is a boost from Maple Leaf Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is presently 324.76%.

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.