The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Oct. 15, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Vishal Shreedhar continues to rate Maple Leaf Foods "outperform." The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Shreedhar gave his share target a $5 trim to $29. Analysts on average target the shares at $35.50. Ahead of the release of Maple Leaf Foods third quarter earnings release on Nov. 4, Mr. Shreedhar is predicting a sequential improvement in sales, however, he thinks the difficult economic backdrop "warrants slight trimmed estimates." Mr. Shreedhar says in a note: "We believe that Maple Leaf Foods has the opportunity to deliver amongst the highest EBITDA margin within branded protein peers, with solid top line growth. We acknowledge heightened risk, predominantly due to execution and commodity volatility. Valuation can rerate higher if Maple Leaf demonstrates stable sales growth and EBITDA margin improvement over time, though execution against managements previously stated plan is key to establish investor confidence." The Globe reported on Dec. 10, March 10 and April 17 that Mr. Shreedhar was maintaining his "outperform" recommendation for Maple Leaf Foods. The shares could then be had for $25.56, $28.72 and $29.68.