Boston Trust Walden Corp Buys New Stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of SunOpta by 139.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,772 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunOpta during the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SunOpta in the 3rd quarter worth $80,000. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of SunOpta in the 3rd quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 33.1% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 3,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total transaction of $99,616.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $822,430. This represents a 10.80 % 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.

SunOpta Price Performance

NASDAQ STKL opened at $7.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. SunOpta Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.88 and a 1 year high of $8.11. The company has a market cap of $883.02 million, a PE ratio of -41.00 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.74.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $176.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.30 million. On average, analysts predict that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on STKL shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.50.

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.