SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.40.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

SunOpta Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ STKL opened at $5.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.44 and its 200-day moving average is $5.39. SunOpta has a one year low of $2.79 and a one year high of $8.56. The firm has a market cap of $697.97 million, a P/E ratio of -3.86 and a beta of 1.73.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.04. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 22.85% and a positive return on equity of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $181.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.10 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SunOpta will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In other news, CEO Brian W. Kocher purchased 36,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.75 per share, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,743,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,012,019.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian W. Kocher bought 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.75 per share, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in SunOpta by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,748,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,835,000 after purchasing an additional 437,740 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 2.5% during the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 4,802,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,979,000 after buying an additional 118,400 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 24.2% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,578,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,258,000 after buying an additional 890,776 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SunOpta by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,904,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 1,291.2% during the 4th quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 2,393,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,094,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta Company Profile

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.