SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) Earns Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $10.00 price target on the stock.

STKL has been the subject of several other reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.50.

SunOpta Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:STKL opened at $7.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $939.60 million, a PE ratio of -43.66 and a beta of 1.80. SunOpta has a 52-week low of $4.88 and a 52-week high of $8.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The company had revenue of $176.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.30 million. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.92%. On average, equities research analysts expect that SunOpta will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SunOpta news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total transaction of $99,616.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 108,500 shares in the company, valued at $822,430. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total value of $366,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,977.43. This trade represents a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SunOpta

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STKL. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in SunOpta by 139.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,772 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SunOpta during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SunOpta during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunOpta during the third quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in SunOpta during the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

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.