State Street Corp Raises Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,522 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $40,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Hauser Brothers GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 0.6% during the third quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 912,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $196,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the third quarter worth about $354,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 92.8% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 37,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 17,914 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 1.3 %

United Natural Foods stock opened at $25.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.48 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.58 and a 52 week high of $32.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.54.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. United Natural Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNFI shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Natural Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.