Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 51.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,520 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in SunOpta by 321.9% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 467,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after buying an additional 356,700 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in SunOpta by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,198,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,273,000 after purchasing an additional 323,397 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 642,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,414,000 after acquiring an additional 44,905 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SunOpta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,394,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta Price Performance

STKL opened at $7.29 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.92. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.37 and a 1 year high of $7.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $870.78 million, a PE ratio of -40.50 and a beta of 1.83.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The business had revenue of $176.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.30 million. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on STKL shares. Stephens upped their target price on shares of SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One 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, SunOpta presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of SunOpta stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total value of $366,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,977.43. The trade was a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta 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.