Scotiabank Cuts Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) Price Target to C$33.00

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) had its target price lowered by Scotiabank from C$36.00 to C$33.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a C$36.00 price target on Maple Leaf Foods and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Securities raised Maple Leaf Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a C$36.00 target price on shares of Maple Leaf Foods and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Ventum Capital increased their price target on Maple Leaf Foods from C$37.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$36.33.

Maple Leaf Foods Price Performance

Shares of TSE:MFI opened at C$26.81 on Thursday. Maple Leaf Foods has a 12 month low of C$23.35 and a 12 month high of C$36.35. The firm has a market capitalization of C$3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.59, a P/E/G ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 97.47, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is C$29.59 and its 200 day moving average price is C$28.99.

Maple Leaf Foods (TSE:MFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported C$0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$1.02 billion during the quarter. Maple Leaf Foods had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 36.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Maple Leaf Foods will post 1.4334187 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maple Leaf Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Maple Leaf Foods’s payout ratio is currently 20.88%.

Insider Transactions at Maple Leaf Foods

In other Maple Leaf Foods news, insider Randall Huffman sold 5,075 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$29.25, for a total transaction of C$2,813,586.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 101,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,967,968.25. The trade was a 48.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 137,829 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,811. 39.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.