Barclays PLC Buys 90,937 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 103.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,954 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 90,937 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.15% of SunOpta worth $1,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of SunOpta in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,394,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of SunOpta by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,504,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,122,000 after buying an additional 782,338 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 116.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,396,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after acquiring an additional 751,126 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SunOpta by 127.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,063,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,788,000 after acquiring an additional 596,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in SunOpta by 250.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 759,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,848,000 after purchasing an additional 542,832 shares during the period. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total transaction of $366,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $99,616.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 108,500 shares in the company, valued at $822,430. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of STKL stock opened at $7.81 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.37. SunOpta Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.88 and a 12-month high of $8.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $933.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.39 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

STKL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their price target on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SunOpta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.50.

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.