Stephens Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL)

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $10.00 target price on the stock.

STKL has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.50.

SunOpta Stock Up 0.5 %

STKL opened at $7.74 on Thursday. SunOpta has a fifty-two week low of $4.88 and a fifty-two week high of $8.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $925.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.00 and a beta of 1.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.46 and its 200 day moving average is $6.42.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $176.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SunOpta will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In other SunOpta news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total transaction 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 $822,430. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $366,500.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SunOpta

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of SunOpta by 12.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 515,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,287,000 after buying an additional 56,621 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 103.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 90,937 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in SunOpta by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,127,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,579,000 after acquiring an additional 951,462 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in SunOpta in the third quarter worth $180,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of SunOpta by 12.7% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,604,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,998,000 after purchasing an additional 406,005 shares during the last quarter. 85.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.