National Bank Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Saputo (TSE:SAP) Stock

Saputo (TSE:SAP) had its target price boosted by analysts at National Bank Financial from C$44.00 to C$45.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SAP. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Saputo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Ventum Financial set a C$47.00 price target on shares of Saputo and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD increased their price objective on Saputo from C$51.00 to C$53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Securities upgraded Saputo to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Ventum Capital upped their target price on Saputo from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$47.18.

Saputo Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of TSE SAP traded up C$1.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching C$41.67. The company had a trading volume of 525,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,766. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$41.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$41.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.08, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of C$16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.15. Saputo has a 12-month low of C$31.94 and a 12-month high of C$45.09.

Saputo (TSE:SAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.01 EPS for the quarter. Saputo had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The business had revenue of C$4.42 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Saputo will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saputo

In related news, Director Maxime Therrien sold 19,601 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$42.06, for a total value of C$824,418.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,700,798.78. The trade was a 23.39% decrease in their position. Also, Director Steven Michael Douglas sold 19,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$41.90, for a total transaction of C$828,656.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$541,222.30. This represents a 60.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 155,766 shares of company stock worth $6,525,571 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 40.45% of the company’s stock.

About Saputo

Saputo, one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. Saputo is a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and cream processor in Canada and a leading dairy processor in Australia. In the USA, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the top producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products.