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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNFI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.40.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $529.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.67 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.39.

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

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the company’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 transaction of $49,656.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,017.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,434,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,128,000 after purchasing an additional 277,636 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 10.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,040,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,847,000 after buying an additional 199,757 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,720,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,794,000 after purchasing an additional 26,140 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 1.3% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 803,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after purchasing an additional 10,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 745,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,102,000 after buying an additional 115,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.