Saputo (TSE:SAP) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as C$22.59 and last traded at C$23.30, with a volume of 1128170 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$22.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SAP. National Bankshares decreased their price target on shares of Saputo from C$31.00 to C$28.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Securities decreased their target price on Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Saputo from C$30.00 to C$27.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Saputo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$32.94.

Saputo Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$25.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$28.08. The firm has a market cap of C$9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.39 by C($0.02). Saputo had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 3.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Saputo Inc. will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.63%.

Insider Activity

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

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.