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

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$34.64.

Several brokerages recently commented on SAP. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Saputo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from C$35.00 to C$30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, National Bankshares reduced their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$36.00 to C$35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Saputo Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Saputo stock opened at C$26.80 on Friday. Saputo has a 1 year low of C$25.28 and a 1 year high of C$32.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of C$11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is C$28.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$29.01.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported C$0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.37 by C$0.02. Saputo had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 3.72%. The company had revenue of C$4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$4.44 billion. Analysts forecast that Saputo will post 1.7735369 earnings per share for the current year.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is a positive change from Saputo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is 120.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Carl Colizza purchased 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$29.43 per share, with a total value of C$200,124.00. In other Saputo news, Senior Officer Carl Colizza acquired 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$29.43 per share, with a total value of C$200,124.00. Also, Senior Officer Martin Gagnon acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$29.73 per share, with a total value of C$59,450.00. 40.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Saputo Company Profile

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.