Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 5.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 194,772 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,916 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $3,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 317.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 41,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 12,124 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 117,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 204.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 39,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 26,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 14.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 19,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 88,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $21.91 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.27. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.58 and a 52 week high of $23.50. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.59 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.25) earnings per share. United Natural Foods’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNFI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.40.

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.