Barclays PLC Increases Stock Holdings in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 103.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,954 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,937 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.15% of SunOpta worth $1,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its position in SunOpta by 139.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SunOpta during the second quarter worth about $63,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SunOpta in the third quarter worth approximately $79,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in SunOpta in the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in SunOpta during the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $99,616.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $314,977.43. The trade was a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STKL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.50.

SunOpta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STKL opened at $7.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.20. SunOpta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.88 and a fifty-two week high of $8.11. The firm has a market cap of $876.24 million, a PE ratio of -40.72 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.53.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last announced its quarterly 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. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $176.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.30 million. Equities research analysts predict that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

SunOpta 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.