Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Saputo “Moderate Buy” overall: Six analysts recommend buying the stock, one rates it a strong buy, and four recommend holding. The average 1-year price target is C$48.10 versus a recent price of C$40.50.
• Saputo reported quarterly earnings of C$0.49 per share on revenue of C$4.42 billion, while analysts expect full-year EPS of C$1.77.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.84 and a 2.1% yield; its payout ratio is 64.52%.

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$48.10.

Several research firms have weighed in on SAP. Ventum Financial set a C$49.00 price objective on Saputo and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. National Bank Financial raised their target price on Saputo from C$44.00 to C$45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Ventum Capital set a C$49.00 target price on Saputo and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Saputo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD increased their price target on shares of Saputo from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Saputo Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of SAP stock opened at C$40.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 41.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of C$16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.19. Saputo has a 52-week low of C$33.14 and a 52-week high of C$45.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$40.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$41.21.

Saputo (TSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.49 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$4.42 billion for the quarter. Saputo had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 2.80%. Research analysts anticipate that Saputo will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Saputo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Saputo's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

About Saputo

Saputo, one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. Saputo is a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and cream processor in Canada and a leading dairy processor in Australia. In the USA, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the top producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products.

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