Wesbanco Bank Inc. Makes New Investment in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL - Free Report) TSE: SOY in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 63,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $490,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of SunOpta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in SunOpta by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,001,775 shares of the company's stock worth $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 222,404 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SunOpta during the second quarter worth about $277,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 38.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 46,464 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 12,996 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in SunOpta by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 213,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 82,402 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in SunOpta by 116.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,396,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,542,000 after acquiring an additional 751,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.39% of the company's stock.

SunOpta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STKL traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.38. 333,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,137. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $7.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $883.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.00 and a beta of 1.80. SunOpta Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.88 and a 1 year high of $8.11.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL - Get Free Report) TSE: SOY last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 company had revenue of $176.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STKL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunOpta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SunOpta has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.50.

Insider Activity

In other SunOpta news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total transaction of $366,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,977.43. This represents a 53.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the business'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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.48% 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.