Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$33.81.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. CIBC decreased their target price on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. National Bankshares reduced their price target on Saputo from C$35.00 to C$33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. TD Securities reduced their price target on Saputo from C$40.00 to C$36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Saputo from C$40.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Saputo from C$31.50 to C$32.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th.

Saputo Stock Performance

TSE SAP opened at C$25.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$26.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$27.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 58.27, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Saputo has a 1-year low of C$25.52 and a 1-year high of C$36.70.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.40 by C($0.02). The company had revenue of C$4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$4.38 billion. Saputo had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 1.92%. On average, research analysts predict that Saputo will post 1.9167852 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.87%.

Insider Transactions at Saputo

In other Saputo news, Director Maxime Therrien acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of C$27.68 per share, with a total value of C$124,560.00. In related news, Senior Officer Leanne Cutts acquired 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$28.03 per share, for a total transaction of C$50,454.00. Also, Director Maxime Therrien purchased 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$27.68 per share, with a total value of C$124,560.00. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 15,190 shares of company stock worth $425,567. Corporate insiders own 42.11% of the company’s stock.

About Saputo

Saputo Inc produces, markets, and distributes dairy products in Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The company offers cheeses, including mozzarella and cheddar; specialty cheeses, such as ricotta, provolone, blue, parmesan, goat cheese, feta, romano, and havarti; fine cheeses comprising brie and camembert; and other cheeses that include brick, colby, farmer, munster, monterey jack, fresh curd, and processed cheeses.