Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI – Get Rating) fell 3.7% during trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $28.00 to $20.00. The stock traded as low as $20.96 and last traded at $21.10. 214,146 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 628,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.90.
Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on UNFI. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $43.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on United Natural Foods from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday. Northcoast Research downgraded United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.71.
Insider Activity at United Natural Foods
In other news, CEO J Alexander Douglas, Jr. purchased 45,168 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,632.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 150,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,353,797.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in United Natural Foods by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in United Natural Foods by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its position in United Natural Foods by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in United Natural Foods by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 40,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
United Natural Foods Trading Down 3.7 %
The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.62 and its 200-day moving average is $31.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.05.
United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 7th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. United Natural Foods had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 0.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.
United Natural Foods Company Profile
United Natural Foods, Inc engages in the distribution of natural, organic, and specialty foods and non-food products. The firm operates through the following segments: Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale segment is engaged in the national distribution of natural, organic, specialty, produce, and conventional grocery and non-food products, and providing retail services in the United States and Canada.