Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at TD Securities

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) was upgraded by equities researchers at TD Securities to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

MFI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$33.00 to C$34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised Maple Leaf Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Ventum Capital lifted their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$35.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Maple Leaf Foods has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$36.33.

Maple Leaf Foods Trading Down 4.2%

TSE MFI opened at C$30.23 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 91.78. Maple Leaf Foods has a 52 week low of C$23.35 and a 52 week high of C$36.35. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$29.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$27.93.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.34 EPS for the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 36.56%. The company had revenue of C$962.85 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Maple Leaf Foods

In other news, insider Randall Huffman sold 5,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.45, for a total value of C$149,458.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 89,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,622,345.80. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Curtis Eugene Frank sold 96,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.25, for a total transaction of C$2,813,586.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 101,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,967,968.25. This trade represents a 48.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $350,102 and have sold 142,699 shares valued at $4,176,580. 39.87% of the stock is currently 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. The key brands are Maple Leaf and Schneiders, Maple Leaf Prime Naturally, Shopsy, Mitchell’s Gourmet Food, Larse, Parm, and Hygrade.