Should You Think About Buying Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) Now?

While Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) might not have the largest market cap around , it saw a significant share price rise of 22% in the past couple of months on the TSX. The recent share price gains has brought the company back closer to its yearly peak. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s examine Maple Leaf Foods’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.

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Is Maple Leaf Foods Still Cheap?

Maple Leaf Foods is currently expensive based on our price multiple model, where we look at the company's price-to-earnings ratio in comparison to the industry average. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. We find that Maple Leaf Foods’s ratio of 31.48x is above its peer average of 12.9x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Food industry. Another thing to keep in mind is that Maple Leaf Foods’s share price is quite stable relative to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This means that if you believe the current share price should move towards the levels of its industry peers over time, a low beta could suggest it is not likely to reach that level anytime soon, and once it’s there, it may be hard for it to fall back down into an attractive buying range again.

View our latest analysis for Maple Leaf Foods

What does the future of Maple Leaf Foods look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Maple Leaf Foods' revenue growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. Unless expenses grow at the same level, or higher, this top-line growth should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has well and truly priced in MFI’s positive outlook, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe MFI should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on MFI for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for MFI, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Maple Leaf Foods you should be mindful of and 2 of these are significant.

If you are no longer interested in Maple Leaf Foods, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.