Saputo (TSE:SAP) Price Target Raised to C$45.00

Saputo (TSE:SAP) had its price target upped by National Bank Financial from C$44.00 to C$45.00 in a research note released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SAP. TD lifted their price target on Saputo from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Ventum Capital increased their price objective on Saputo from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. TD Securities raised Saputo to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Ventum Financial set a C$47.00 target price on shares of Saputo and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Saputo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$47.18.

Saputo Stock Performance

Shares of SAP opened at C$42.19 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$41.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$41.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 41.86, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of C$16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.15. Saputo has a one year low of C$32.44 and a one year high of C$45.09.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Saputo had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 2.80%.The firm had revenue of C$4.42 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate 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 Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Martin Gagnon sold 12,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.99, for a total transaction of C$542,762.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,316,890.38. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. Also, Director Steven Michael Douglas acquired 3,875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$41.01 per share, with a total value of C$158,913.75. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$688,639.92. The trade was a 30.00% increase in their position. Insiders have sold 155,766 shares of company stock worth $6,525,571 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 40.45% of the company’s stock.

Saputo Company Profile

Saputo, one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. Saputo is a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and cream processor in Canada and a leading dairy processor in Australia. In the USA, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the top producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products.