Saputo (TSE:SAP) Sets New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as C$22.59 and last traded at C$23.30, with a volume of 1128170 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$22.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Saputo from C$36.00 to C$32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Desjardins set a C$34.00 price target on shares of Saputo in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Saputo from C$38.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Saputo from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of Saputo from C$31.00 to C$28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Saputo presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$32.94.

Saputo Trading Up 0.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$25.36 and a 200 day moving average price of C$28.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.17. The company has a market capitalization of C$9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.32.

Saputo (TSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.37 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Saputo Inc. will post 1.7735369 EPS for the current year.

Saputo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Saputo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Leanne Cutts purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$26.25 per share, with a total value of C$105,000.00. 40.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Saputo

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.