United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 33.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,227 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 37,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 94,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 8,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $20.75 on Thursday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $23.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -10.98 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.89 and its 200-day moving average is $14.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.44.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 0.54% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total transaction of $299,706.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,986,366.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Natural Foods Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes natural, organic, specialty, produce, and conventional grocery and non-food products in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The company offers grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, wellness and personal care items, and bulk and foodservice products.