Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Saputo (TSE:SAP) Price Target to C$35.00

Saputo (TSE:SAP) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from C$38.00 to C$35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SAP. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$31.00 to C$28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Securities cut their price target on Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Saputo from C$35.00 to C$32.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Desjardins set a C$34.00 price target on Saputo in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Saputo from C$30.00 to C$27.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$32.19.

Saputo Stock Performance

SAP opened at C$23.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.79, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. Saputo has a fifty-two week low of C$22.59 and a fifty-two week high of C$32.15. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of C$24.73 and a 200 day moving average of C$27.47.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Saputo will post 1.7735369 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.63%.

Insider Transactions at Saputo

In related news, Senior Officer Leanne Cutts purchased 4,000 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$26.25 per share, with a total value 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.