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

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$36.88.

A number of brokerages have commented on SAP. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Saputo from C$43.00 to C$37.00 in a report on Monday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Saputo from C$46.00 to C$40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 12th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Saputo from C$46.00 to C$42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 12th. Veritas Investment Research set a C$31.00 price target on Saputo and gave the stock a “reduce” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on Saputo from C$43.00 to C$38.00 in a research report on Monday, June 12th.

Insider Transactions at Saputo

In other news, Director Joe Marsilii acquired 5,000 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$27.94 per share, with a total value of C$139,700.00. In related news, Director Anna Lisa King sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$28.35, for a total value of C$56,692.00. Also, Director Joe Marsilii acquired 5,000 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$27.94 per share, with a total value of C$139,700.00. Corporate insiders own 42.28% of the company’s stock.

Saputo Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SAP opened at C$29.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$12.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.37. Saputo has a 12-month low of C$27.17 and a 12-month high of C$37.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$28.34 and a 200-day moving average price of C$32.41.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 8th. The company reported C$0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.42 by C$0.05. The firm had revenue of C$4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$4.34 billion. Saputo had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Equities research analysts expect that Saputo will post 1.8184654 earnings per share for the current year.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Saputo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 1st. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

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.