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

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$34.50.

Several research firms recently commented on SAP. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Saputo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from C$35.00 to C$30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Saputo from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$34.00 price objective on Saputo in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Saputo Stock Performance

Shares of Saputo stock opened at C$25.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is C$26.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$28.85. Saputo has a 52 week low of C$25.05 and a 52 week high of C$32.15. The company has a market capitalization of C$10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Saputo’s payout ratio is 120.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Leanne Cutts acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$26.25 per share, for a total transaction of C$105,000.00. Corporate insiders own 40.45% of the company’s stock.

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.