Intech Investment Management LLC Has $1.45 Million Stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 38,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,044 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 196.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 925,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,583,000 after buying an additional 613,790 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,544,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,308,000 after acquiring an additional 436,680 shares in the last quarter. Towle & Co. bought a new position in United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $13,724,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,603,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,690,000 after purchasing an additional 169,640 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 259.4% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 226,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,529,000 after purchasing an additional 163,622 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on UNFI. Zacks Research cut shares of United Natural Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price target on United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Friday, January 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total transaction of $140,953.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 37,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,166.52. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Louis Anthony Martin sold 9,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total transaction of $327,250.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 81,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,382.78. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

NYSE:UNFI opened at $36.49 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.78 and a 12-month high of $43.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.98 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.17. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 4.35% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.The business had revenue of $7.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI’s core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.