SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) Shares Purchased by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,711 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,246 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STKL. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SunOpta during the third quarter worth $153,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 22.0% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 311,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 56,150 shares during the period. Zazove Associates LLC lifted its holdings in SunOpta by 67.1% in the third quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 482,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 193,484 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SunOpta by 65.6% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,904,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546,567 shares during the period. Finally, Quantum Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in SunOpta by 52.4% in the third quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 55,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 18,936 shares during the period. 85.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SunOpta has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SunOpta news, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total value of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,743,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,012,019.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other SunOpta news, CEO Brian W. Kocher purchased 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.75 per share, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total value of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,743,399 shares in the company, valued at $12,012,019.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SunOpta Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of STKL stock opened at $5.65 on Thursday. SunOpta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.79 and a fifty-two week high of $8.22. The stock has a market cap of $668.55 million, a P/E ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $181.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.10 million. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 4.05% and a negative net margin of 22.85%. On average, analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.