Sunopta Inc (STKL)

[tentacle]

Other postiives:
good book value, equity in cellulosic ethanol company (not food) and personal health issues are likely to become even more pronounced in the population, as this "weak" generation limps into older age.

Some significant negatives:

Management's ability to manage growth in question with the frozen fruit debacle. How could something of that magnitude not have been caught sooner?

No dividend and no imminent plan to start a dividend. This is huge for me, as nothing limits the downside. Witness the rollercoaster it has been on over the last decade. With a quarterly dividend of even .03, you put a floor under the stock as yield becomes competitive with interest rates. Further, if it collapses (just witness the bad press organics gets occasionally (eg: during food poisoning outbreaks) or the fruit debacle mentioned above. You could hold this for a long time, and make no capital gain. With a dividend, you would be getting something as a reward, and likely it would limit the price downside. Sustainable share price growth has not happened with this company, and in a depression we would be screwed on share price, as this company's main business is in luxury (expensive food) items.