Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 31,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STKL. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in SunOpta by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 178,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 14,300 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in SunOpta by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 432,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after acquiring an additional 93,798 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in SunOpta by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 124,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 5,141 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in SunOpta in the 1st quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in SunOpta by 81.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 2,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta Price Performance

STKL opened at $5.96 on Friday. SunOpta Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.79 and a 52-week high of $8.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.44 and its 200-day moving average is $5.40.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $181.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.10 million. SunOpta had a positive return on equity of 4.05% and a negative net margin of 22.85%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at SunOpta

In other news, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,743,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,012,019.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Ennen sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,743,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,012,019.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian W. Kocher acquired 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.75 per share, with a total value of $243,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $243,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STKL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on SunOpta from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.40.

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.