Analysts Set Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) Price Target at C$33.81

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$32.94.

SAP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Saputo from C$30.00 to C$27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Desjardins set a C$34.00 price target on Saputo in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Saputo from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Saputo Stock Performance

Saputo stock opened at C$23.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of C$9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. Saputo has a 1-year low of C$22.59 and a 1-year high of C$32.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$25.42 and its 200 day moving average is C$28.16.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.39 by C($0.02). Saputo had a return on equity of 3.72% and a net margin of 1.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Saputo will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.63%.

Insider Transactions at Saputo

In other Saputo news, Senior Officer Leanne Cutts acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$26.25 per share, with a total value of C$105,000.00. Insiders own 40.45% of the company’s stock.

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.