Royce & Associates LP Purchases 192,780 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Royce & Associates LP raised its position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,731,276 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 192,780 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $13,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STKL. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of SunOpta by 139.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 4,772 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SunOpta in the third quarter worth about $79,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of SunOpta in the fourth quarter worth about $81,000. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of SunOpta in the third quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake 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 worth $86,000 after buying an additional 3,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

SunOpta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STKL opened at $5.35 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $4.88 and a 12-month high of $8.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $640.60 million, a P/E ratio of -29.72 and a beta of 1.90.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The business had revenue of $193.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.90 million. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. Equities research analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In other SunOpta news, SVP Bryan P. Clark sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total transaction of $45,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,150 shares in the company, valued at $149,758. This trade represents a 23.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.