Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 542,832 Shares of SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) by 250.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 759,869 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 542,832 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in SunOpta were worth $4,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SunOpta by 1.1% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SunOpta by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,198,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,273,000 after buying an additional 323,397 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of SunOpta by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,538,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,816,000 after buying an additional 130,470 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of SunOpta by 116.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,396,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after buying an additional 751,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in SunOpta by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,333,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,202,000 after purchasing an additional 459,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In related news, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total transaction of $99,616.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $822,430. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,977.43. This trade represents a 53.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SunOpta Price Performance

NASDAQ STKL opened at $7.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.20. SunOpta Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.62 and a 52-week high of $8.11. The company has a market cap of $940.23 million, a PE ratio of -43.61 and a beta of 1.78.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The company had revenue of $176.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.30 million. SunOpta had a negative net margin of 2.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.92%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STKL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.50.

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.