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

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by equities researchers at Stephens in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $10.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.23% from the stock’s previous close.

STKL has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised 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 set a $9.00 target price 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.50.

SunOpta Price Performance

SunOpta stock opened at $7.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $939.60 million, a P/E ratio of -43.66 and a beta of 1.80. SunOpta has a one year low of $4.88 and a one year high of $8.11. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $7.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.43.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $176.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.30 million. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 7.92% and a negative net margin of 2.74%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SunOpta will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In other SunOpta news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 42,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,977.43. This trade represents a 53.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $822,430. The trade was 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in SunOpta by 13.3% during the second quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 47,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in SunOpta during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in SunOpta by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 36,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in SunOpta in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $535,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in SunOpta by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 18,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 5,136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.39% 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.