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

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$34.19.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SAP shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Saputo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from C$35.00 to C$30.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Desjardins set a C$34.00 price target on shares of Saputo in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Saputo Stock Performance

TSE SAP opened at C$24.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is C$26.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$28.77. The firm has a market capitalization of C$10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17. Saputo has a 1 year low of C$24.63 and a 1 year high of C$32.15.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.19 dividend. 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 3.06%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Leanne Cutts acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$26.25 per share, for a total transaction of C$105,000.00. 40.45% 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.