Saputo (TSE:SAP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Saputo (TSE:SAP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported C$0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of C$4.42 billion for the quarter. Saputo had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 3.65%.

Saputo Stock Down 1.0%

SAP stock opened at C$38.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$41.36 and a 200-day moving average price of C$41.66. Saputo has a 12 month low of C$29.14 and a 12 month high of C$45.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.08. The stock has a market capitalization of C$15.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.15.

Saputo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Saputo’s payout ratio is presently 48.47%.

Insider Activity at Saputo

In related news, insider Martin Gagnon sold 12,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.99, for a total transaction of C$542,762.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,362 shares in the company, valued at C$1,316,890.38. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. Also, Director Steven Michael Douglas bought 3,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$41.01 per share, for a total transaction of C$158,913.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$688,639.92. This represents a 30.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. In the last three months, insiders have sold 155,766 shares of company stock valued at $6,525,571. 40.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SAP shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Saputo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. National Bank Financial cut their target price on Saputo from C$46.00 to C$44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ventum Financial set a C$47.00 price target on Saputo and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ventum Capital increased their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD dropped their target price on shares of Saputo from C$52.00 to C$51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$46.73.

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.