Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 698,004 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 65.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,761,922 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 698,004 shares during the quarter. SunOpta comprises 0.6% of Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $13,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STKL. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of SunOpta by 16.6% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,504,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,122,000 after acquiring an additional 782,338 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in SunOpta by 1.1% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,064,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,346,000 after purchasing an additional 56,560 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SunOpta by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,604,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,998,000 after purchasing an additional 406,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SunOpta by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,127,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,579,000 after purchasing an additional 951,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of SunOpta by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,827,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,658,000 after purchasing an additional 290,372 shares in the last quarter. 85.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on STKL. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

SunOpta Stock Performance

STKL traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 220,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,463. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.61 and its 200-day moving average is $6.49. SunOpta Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.88 and a 52 week high of $8.11. The firm has a market cap of $863.09 million, a PE ratio of -40.11 and a beta of 1.80. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $176.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.30 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $822,430. The trade was a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total transaction of $366,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,977.43. This represents a 53.78 % 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.

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.