Boston Trust Walden Corp Takes $169,000 Position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 22,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STKL. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in SunOpta in the second quarter worth approximately $277,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 62.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 213,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 82,402 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in SunOpta by 52.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,333,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,202,000 after buying an additional 459,053 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in SunOpta by 10.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 3,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SunOpta in the second quarter worth about $198,000. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $99,616.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 108,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $822,430. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total value of $366,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,971 shares in the company, valued at $314,977.43. This represents a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price target 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 research note on Saturday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SunOpta currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

SunOpta Price Performance

NASDAQ STKL opened at $7.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.74. SunOpta Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.88 and a twelve month high of $8.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $883.02 million, a PE ratio of -41.00 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.20.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts anticipate that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

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.