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

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$46.25.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SAP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Saputo from C$47.00 to C$50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Saputo from C$40.00 to C$44.00 in a report on Friday, January 30th. Desjardins increased their price target on Saputo from C$45.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Saputo from C$51.00 to C$52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Saputo from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th.

Saputo Stock Up 1.4%

SAP stock opened at C$42.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of C$17.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.13. Saputo has a 12 month low of C$23.94 and a 12 month high of C$44.00. 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 50 day simple moving average of C$41.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$38.37.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Saputo will post 1.7735369 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Saputo’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick Turcotte sold 2,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.18, for a total value of C$87,354.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$351,612.48. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. Insiders have sold a total of 2,659 shares of company stock worth $112,169 in the last quarter. 40.45% of the stock is owned by 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.