Cascades (TSE:CAS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cascades Inc. (TSE:CAS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$14.33 and last traded at C$14.22, with a volume of 94067 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$14.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAS has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD increased their price target on shares of Cascades from C$13.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Desjardins reduced their price target on shares of Cascades from C$15.00 to C$13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Cascades from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Cascades from C$15.00 to C$14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Cascades from C$16.75 to C$14.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cascades has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$13.93.

Cascades Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$11.82 and its 200-day moving average is C$11.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 113.03. The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03.

Cascades (TSE:CAS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Cascades had a net margin of 2.15% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The company had revenue of C$1.12 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cascades Inc. will post 1.2959309 earnings per share for the current year.

Cascades Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Cascades’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laurent Lemaire bought 23,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$10.52 per share, for a total transaction of C$245,137.04. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,837,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$82,451,941.24. This trade represents a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 23.78% of the company’s stock.

About Cascades

Founded in 1964, Cascades offers sustainable, innovative and value-added solutions for packaging, hygiene and recovery needs. The company employs approximately 9,000 talented people across a network of 60 production units in North America. With its participative management, half a century of experience in recycling, and ongoing efforts in research and development as driving forces, Cascades continues to deliver the innovative products that customers have come to rely on, while contributing to the well-being of people, communities and the entire planet.