Covestor Ltd Sells 708 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Covestor Ltd reduced its stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 24.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,247 shares of the company’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,587,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,175,000 after acquiring an additional 321,020 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 49.5% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,773,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,235,000 after purchasing an additional 587,163 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 23.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,601,000 after buying an additional 237,496 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 4.0% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 343,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,494,000 after purchasing an additional 13,165 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 86.6% during the second 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 period. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE UNFI opened at $21.66 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.58 and a 12 month high of $23.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.13 and a 200-day moving average of $15.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.46 and a beta of 0.62.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNFI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 100,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,986,366.94. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.