Saputo (TSE:SAP) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average of $28.30

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$28.30 and traded as high as C$31.64. Saputo shares last traded at C$31.56, with a volume of 406,273 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SAP. National Bankshares upped their target price on Saputo from C$35.00 to C$36.00 in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Desjardins upped their target price on Saputo from C$33.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. CIBC increased their price target on Saputo from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Saputo from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Saputo currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$35.93.

Saputo Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$30.58 and a 200 day moving average price of C$28.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 58.27, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of C$13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.32.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported C$0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$0.37. The firm had revenue of C$4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$4.25 billion. Saputo had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 1.92%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Saputo Inc. will post 1.915804 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is a positive change from Saputo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Saputo’s payout ratio is 94.87%.

Insider Activity at Saputo

In related news, Senior Officer Richard Wallace bought 4,950 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$30.48 per share, with a total value of C$150,899.76. In other Saputo news, Senior Officer Sindy Saragoca purchased 1,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$29.39 per share, for a total transaction of C$39,999.79. Also, Senior Officer Richard Wallace purchased 4,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$30.48 per share, with a total value of C$150,899.76. 42.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.