Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$33.81.

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

Saputo Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of Saputo stock opened at C$26.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.32. Saputo has a 52-week low of C$25.28 and a 52-week high of C$36.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 58.27, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is C$26.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$27.11.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.40 by C($0.02). The business had revenue of C$4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$4.38 billion. Saputo had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 4.76%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Saputo will post 1.9167852 EPS for the current year.

Saputo Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.87%.

Insider Activity at Saputo

In other news, Senior Officer Gaétane Wagner acquired 3,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$28.27 per share, for a total transaction of C$99,916.78. In other Saputo news, Senior Officer Gaétane Wagner acquired 3,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$28.27 per share, for a total transaction of C$99,916.78. Also, Director Maxime Therrien sold 31,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$28.24, for a total transaction of C$883,629.60. Insiders have bought a total of 15,190 shares of company stock valued at $425,567 over the last 90 days. 42.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.