Royce & Associates LP Buys 130,470 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,538,496 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 130,470 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $9,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in SunOpta by 16.9% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 212,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 30,646 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of SunOpta by 1,600.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 127.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,063,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,788,000 after buying an additional 596,403 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of SunOpta by 139.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its stake in SunOpta by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 25,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 1,856 shares during the period. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In other news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $314,977.43. This trade represents a 53.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta Price Performance

STKL stock opened at $7.29 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.52 and a 200-day moving average of $5.92. SunOpta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.37 and a fifty-two week high of $7.75. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $176.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.30 million. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens increased their target price on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.50.

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.