First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 28,180 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 155.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,251 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,180 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 0.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 120,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,430,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital raised its position in United Natural Foods by 8.0% during the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 21,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in United Natural Foods by 11.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $504,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In related news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $515,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,635,695.64. The trade was a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNFI. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Natural Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.86.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $47.02 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.88 and a fifty-two week high of $57.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.24 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.55.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.04). United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.42%. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

About United Natural Foods

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.