Saputo (TSE:SAP) Lowered to Sector Perform Rating by National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Saputo (TSE:SAP) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has C$46.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on SAP. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on shares of Saputo from C$40.00 to C$44.00 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Saputo from C$47.00 to C$49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Desjardins increased their price target on shares of Saputo from C$45.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Saputo from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Saputo from C$51.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$46.25.

Saputo Stock Performance

TSE SAP opened at C$40.92 on Monday. Saputo has a 1 year low of C$25.17 and a 1 year high of C$45.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 59.15, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of C$16.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$42.85 and a 200-day moving average price of C$39.75.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported C$0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Saputo had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm had revenue of C$4.89 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Saputo will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Saputo news, insider Patrick Turcotte sold 2,071 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.18, for a total transaction of C$87,354.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at C$351,612.48. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 2,659 shares of company stock worth $112,169 in the last three months. 40.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Saputo Company Profile

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.