SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its stake in shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 23,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,207 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of SunOpta during the 4th quarter valued at $733,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 18.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,827,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,658,000 after acquiring an additional 290,372 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in SunOpta by 103.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 90,937 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in SunOpta by 80.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,127,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,579,000 after purchasing an additional 951,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in SunOpta by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 515,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,287,000 after purchasing an additional 56,621 shares during the last quarter. 85.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bryan P. Clark sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total value of $45,220.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,758. This trade represents a 23.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on STKL. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

SunOpta Trading Up 0.7 %

SunOpta stock opened at $4.13 on Wednesday. SunOpta Inc. has a one year low of $3.65 and a one year high of $8.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $494.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.94 and a beta of 1.83.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $193.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.90 million. On average, analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About SunOpta

SunOpta Inc engages in manufacture and sale of plant-based and fruit-based food and beverage products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides plant-based beverages utilizing oat, almond, soy, coconut, rice, hemp, and other bases under the Dream and West Life brands; oat-based creamers under the SOWN brand; ready-to-drink protein shakes; and nut, grain, seed, and legume based beverages; packaged teas and concentrates; and meat and vegetable broths and stocks.