Saputo (TSE:SAP) Given New C$38.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Saputo (TSE:SAP) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from C$39.00 to C$38.00 in a report published on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

SAP has been the subject of several other research reports. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of 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. National Bankshares reduced their target price on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Saputo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from C$35.00 to C$30.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Saputo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$34.64.

Saputo Trading Up 1.1 %

Saputo stock opened at C$26.86 on Tuesday. Saputo has a 12 month low of C$25.28 and a 12 month high of C$32.15. The company has a market capitalization of C$11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is C$28.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$29.01. 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 (TSE:SAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported C$0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.37 by C$0.02. The company had revenue of C$4.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$4.44 billion. Saputo had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 3.72%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Saputo will post 1.7735369 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This is an increase from Saputo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.63%.

Insider Activity at Saputo

In other news, Senior Officer Carl Colizza bought 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$29.43 per share, with a total value of C$200,124.00. In other Saputo news, Senior Officer Carl Colizza bought 6,800 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$29.43 per share, with a total value of C$200,124.00. Also, Senior Officer Martin Gagnon purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$29.73 per share, for a total transaction of C$59,450.00. 40.45% of the stock is owned by company 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.