Analysts Set Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) Target Price at C$35.50

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$35.50.

SAP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Desjardins raised their target price on Saputo from C$33.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. CIBC reduced their price objective on Saputo from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Saputo from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Martin Gagnon acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$29.73 per share, with a total value of C$59,450.00. In related news, Senior Officer Richard Wallace bought 4,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$30.48 per share, for a total transaction of C$150,899.76. Also, Senior Officer Martin Gagnon bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$29.73 per share, for a total transaction of C$59,450.00. Insiders bought 13,750 shares of company stock valued at $410,474 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.57% of the company’s stock.

Saputo Trading Down 0.3 %

TSE SAP opened at C$28.92 on Thursday. Saputo has a fifty-two week low of C$25.28 and a fifty-two week high of C$32.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$30.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$28.66. The stock has a market cap of C$12.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.33.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported C$0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.37 by C$0.02. The company had revenue of C$4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$4.44 billion. Saputo had a return on equity of 3.72% and a net margin of 1.50%. On average, analysts forecast that Saputo will post 1.8087698 earnings per share for the current year.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. This is a positive change from Saputo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Saputo’s payout ratio is presently 120.63%.

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.