Saputo (TSE:SAP) Shares Down 6.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Saputo shares dropped about 6.5% intraday to C$42.13 from C$45.06, with only 163,994 shares traded (about an 84% decline from average volume).
• Analysts remain broadly positive—six Buys and one Hold—resulting in a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and an average price target of C$46.25 after several recent target increases.
• Key fundamentals: C$16.75B market cap, P/E ~26.5, recent quarterly EPS C$0.57 and revenue C$4.89B, a 1.9% dividend yield (50% payout ratio), and notable insider selling despite insiders owning ~40.5% of shares.

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP - Get Free Report) traded down 6.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as C$41.89 and last traded at C$42.13. 163,994 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 1,000,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$45.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Saputo from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Saputo from C$51.00 to C$52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Saputo from C$47.00 to C$50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Saputo from C$47.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$45.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$46.25.

Saputo Trading Down 8.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 59.15, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is C$42.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$39.69. The stock has a market cap of C$16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.10.

Saputo (TSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported C$0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Saputo had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm had revenue of C$4.89 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Saputo Inc. will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Saputo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at Saputo

In other Saputo news, insider Patrick Turcotte sold 2,071 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.18, for a total transaction of C$87,354.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$351,612.48. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,659 shares of company stock worth $112,169. 40.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Saputo Company Profile

Saputo is a global dairy processor domiciled in Canada (28% of fiscal 2022 sales) with operations in the United States (43%), the U.K. (6%), and other international markets (23%). It sells cheese, cream, fluid milk, and other dairy products. In the retail segment (50% of revenue), its mix of brands include Saputo, Armstrong, Cheer, Cathedral City, and Frylight. Saputo also competes in food service (30% of revenue) and industrials (20% of revenue), which houses its ingredients business.

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