Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) Receives C$33.81 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$33.81.

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

Saputo Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of TSE SAP opened at C$26.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 58.27. The firm has a market cap of C$11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$27.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$27.42. Saputo has a 12-month low of C$25.57 and a 12-month high of C$36.70.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.40 by C($0.02). Saputo had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 1.92%. The company had revenue of C$4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$4.38 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Saputo will post 1.9145173 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Gaétane Wagner sold 32,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$28.08, for a total value of C$901,453.07. In other Saputo news, Director Maxime Therrien acquired 4,500 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$27.68 per share, for a total transaction of C$124,560.00. Also, Senior Officer Gaétane Wagner sold 32,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$28.08, for a total value of C$901,453.07. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 15,190 shares of company stock worth $425,567. 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.