Saputo (TSE:SAP) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from C$36.00 to C$32.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Saputo traded as low as C$24.63 and last traded at C$25.03, with a volume of 696364 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$25.20.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Desjardins set a C$34.00 price objective on Saputo in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Saputo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from C$35.00 to C$30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price target on Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$34.19.

Insider Transactions at Saputo

In other 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 purchased at an average price 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.

Saputo Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$26.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$28.87. The stock has a market capitalization of C$10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32.

Saputo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.63%.

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.