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High Liner Foods Incorporated

HLF.TO
45
Packaged Foods · Consumer Defensive
Price
C$15.30
-0.14 (-0.91%)
Market Cap
C$429.6M
Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Winston Score
45
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Weak
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Good
Stability
Good
Valuation
Strong
Dividends
Strong

Share count falling — buybacks

14.9% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 35.1M (2021) → 29.9M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

High Liner Foods is a Canadian company that buys, processes, and sells frozen seafood products. Its main products include frozen fish fillets, shrimp, and value-added seafood items sold under brand names like High Liner, Fisher Boy, and Icelandic Seafood. The company sells primarily to foodservice customers — such as restaurants and institutions — as well as grocery retailers across North America.

High Liner makes money by purchasing raw seafood, processing it into packaged or breaded products, and selling those finished goods at a markup. It operates mainly in Canada and the United States, with most of its manufacturing in North America, and generates roughly $1 billion in annual revenue. The company's brand recognition and established foodservice relationships provide some competitive stability, but its thin operating margins leave little room for error. The biggest ongoing risk is volatility in raw seafood costs, since fish prices are driven by global supply conditions that High Liner cannot control.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+9.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-35.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

44.1%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~6 months

$14M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

High Liner Foods Incorporated has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
17.8%
Thin — 17.8% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
5.1%
Thin — 5.1% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
7.9%
Weak — 7.9% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+14.7%
Fast-growing sales (+14.7% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-43.7%
Earnings shrinking (-43.7% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
3/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
106%
Turns 106% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
0.7%
Thin free cash flow (0.7%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.79
Moderate — manageable debt (0.79)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
2.91x
Tight — interest eats into profit (2.9x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
12.5x
Attractive valuation — P/E 12.5

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+3.2
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (12.5 → 9.3)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
4.77%
Healthy income — 4.77% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+5.3%
Dividend growing modestly (5.3% YoY)

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