Saputo (TSE:SAP) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from C$37.00 to C$41.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Saputo traded as high as C$42.30 and last traded at C$41.14, with a volume of 476809 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$41.74.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SAP. CIBC raised their price objective on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$40.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Saputo from C$44.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$38.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of Saputo from C$40.00 to C$45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Saputo from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Saputo currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$41.75.

Saputo Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -209.95, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$40.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$35.32.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Saputo had a negative return on equity of 2.20% and a negative net margin of 0.84%.The business had revenue of C$4.72 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Saputo Inc. will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -385.00%.

About Saputo

Saputo is a global dairy processor domiciled in Canada (28% of fiscal 2022 sales) with operations in the United States (43%), the U.K. (6%), and other international markets (23%). It sells cheese, cream, fluid milk, and other dairy products. In the retail segment (50% of revenue), its mix of brands include Saputo, Armstrong, Cheer, Cathedral City, and Frylight. Saputo also competes in food service (30% of revenue) and industrials (20% of revenue), which houses its ingredients business.