01:52 PM EST, 01/22/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Maple Leaf Foods ( MLFNF ) will report its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 25.

National Bank's Vishal Shreedhar is projecting fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.25, in line with consensus; last year was $0.08. Shreedhar's expectation of significant EPS improvement largely reflects gross margin rate expansion, higher sales, and lower interest expense, partly offset by higher SG&A.

National is modeling sales to be higher by 2.4%, reflecting strength in prepared meats, the lapping of volume repatriation in poultry, and higher pork sales.

Maintain Outperform rating; price target is $26.

Price: 21.36, Change: +0.07, Percent Change: +0.33