United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Sold by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 47.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,380 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after acquiring an additional 34,522 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $595,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 86.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 264,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,461,000 after purchasing an additional 122,626 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 352.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 108,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 84,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new position in United Natural Foods in the second quarter valued at $661,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,617.80. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of United Natural Foods stock opened at $28.64 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.84. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.58 and a 12 month high of $32.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.24 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNFI. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Northcoast Research raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

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.