Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$35.93.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Saputo from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Saputo from C$35.00 to C$36.00 in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Desjardins lifted their target price on Saputo from C$33.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on Saputo from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th.

Saputo Stock Performance

SAP stock opened at C$31.62 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$30.00 and a 200 day moving average price of C$28.14. Saputo has a fifty-two week low of C$25.28 and a fifty-two week high of C$32.15. The stock has a market capitalization of C$13.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.32. 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 (TSE:SAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported C$0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.37. Saputo had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 1.92%. The firm had revenue of C$4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$4.25 billion. Analysts expect that Saputo will post 1.915804 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Sindy Saragoca acquired 1,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$29.39 per share, with a total value of C$39,999.79. In other Saputo news, Senior Officer Richard Wallace bought 4,950 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$30.48 per share, for a total transaction of C$150,899.76. Also, Senior Officer Sindy Saragoca bought 1,361 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$29.39 per share, for a total transaction of C$39,999.79. 42.11% of the stock is owned by 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.