Saputo (TSE:SAP) Lowered to “Sector Perform” Rating by National Bank Financial

Saputo (TSE:SAP) was downgraded by National Bank Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a C$46.00 price objective on the stock. National Bank Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.30% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Saputo from C$41.00 to C$42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Saputo from C$51.00 to C$52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their target price on shares of Saputo from C$40.00 to C$44.00 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Saputo from C$47.00 to C$50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Saputo from C$47.00 to C$49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Saputo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$46.25.

Saputo Trading Down 9.1%

Shares of TSE SAP traded down C$4.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$40.96. The stock had a trading volume of 976,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,935. The firm has a market cap of C$16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.10. Saputo has a twelve month low of C$25.17 and a twelve month high of C$45.09. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is C$42.86 and its 200 day moving average price is C$39.69.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last released its 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 company had revenue of C$4.89 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Saputo will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick Turcotte sold 2,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.18, for a total value of C$87,354.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at C$351,612.48. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,659 shares of company stock valued at $112,169. Corporate insiders own 40.45% of the company’s stock.

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.