Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires New Holdings in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in STKL. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SunOpta during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of SunOpta by 139.3% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SunOpta in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SunOpta in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SunOpta during the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.39% of the company’s stock.

SunOpta Stock Performance

Shares of STKL opened at $7.82 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $6.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.99. The stock has a market cap of $934.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.44 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.53. SunOpta Inc. has a one year low of $4.62 and a one year high of $7.88.

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) (TSE:SOY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $176.22 million for 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that SunOpta Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SunOpta

In other SunOpta news, insider Robert Duchscher sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $314,977.43. This represents a 53.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca Fisher sold 13,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $99,616.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 108,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $822,430. This trade represents a 10.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on STKL shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of SunOpta in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of SunOpta from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SunOpta from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.