BMO Capital Markets Downgrades Saputo (TSE:SAP) to Market Perform

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Saputo (TSE:SAP) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has C$30.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of C$35.00.

SAP has been the subject of several other reports. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Saputo from C$36.00 to C$35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$34.79.

Saputo Stock Down 0.2 %

TSE SAP opened at C$27.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of C$11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$29.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$28.96. Saputo has a fifty-two week low of C$25.28 and a fifty-two week high of C$32.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported C$0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.37 by C$0.02. Saputo had a return on equity of 3.72% and a net margin of 1.50%. The firm had revenue of C$4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$4.44 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Saputo will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This is an increase from Saputo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Saputo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.63%.

Insider Activity at Saputo

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