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

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$34.19.

SAP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities reduced their price target on Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Saputo from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Desjardins set a C$34.00 price objective on shares of Saputo in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Saputo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from C$35.00 to C$30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Saputo Stock Performance

Shares of SAP opened at C$24.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of C$10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$26.34 and a 200-day moving average of C$28.77. Saputo has a one year low of C$24.63 and a one year high of C$32.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.63%.

About Saputo

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.