Royce & Associates LP Increases Stock Position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL - Free Report) TSE: SOY by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,538,496 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 130,470 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.29% of SunOpta worth $9,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of SunOpta by 1.1% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,064,115 shares of the company's stock worth $27,346,000 after purchasing an additional 56,560 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in SunOpta by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,198,624 shares of the company's stock worth $17,273,000 after buying an additional 323,397 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in SunOpta by 116.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,396,724 shares of the company's stock worth $7,542,000 after buying an additional 751,126 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in SunOpta by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,333,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,202,000 after buying an additional 459,053 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of SunOpta by 127.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SunOpta Stock Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:STKL traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 473,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,340. SunOpta Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.37 and a 52-week high of $7.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $870.78 million, a P/E ratio of -40.50 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.52 and a 200-day moving average of $5.92.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In related news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 42,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,977.43. The trade was a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STKL has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised SunOpta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SunOpta presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.