United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Down 3%

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)’s share price dropped 3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.82 and last traded at $8.83. Approximately 385,143 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 685,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.28. The firm has a market cap of $527.23 million, a P/E ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 0.55.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 1.20%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total value of $49,656.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,017.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 35,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management increased its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 17.7% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 0.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 109,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 33,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Company 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.