10:55 AM EDT, 05/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- CIBC maintained its outperformer rating on Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO) and increased its price target to $39 from $37 after the company reported its first quarter results on Thursday.

The bank noted that Q1 showed sustained revenue momentum along with better-than-expected sequential margin recovery. CIBC expects poultry growth to moderate as the comparables become more difficult, but it also believes that the company is set to leverage its assets and brands to "deliver market share wins in the coming years."

"MFI clearly has momentum with its brands and operations but full-year guidance was maintained and our full-year estimates for 2026 and 2027 are little changed,"said analyst Mark Petrie. "Management has repeatedly claimed that "the transformation is complete", and while this is true in one sense, we would argue that there is another transformation underway - building a track-record of consistency - and we expect further multiple expansion as this plays out."

The bank expects the company to continue generating strong cash flows and returning cash to shareholders while leverage drops modestly.

"We use our 2026 EBITDA estimate as the basis for our valuation and apply this to our forecast, then subtract net debt to generate our price target of $39 (was $37),"said Petrie.

Price: 29.47, Change: -1.49, Percent Change: -4.81