Empowered Funds LLC Purchases New Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 421,754 shares of United Natural Foods in the second quarter, worth approximately $19.3 million and representing about 0.70% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 87.63% of UNFI.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans neutral: two analysts rate UNFI a Buy, six rate it Hold, and one rates it Sell. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $47.86.
• UNFI reported quarterly revenue of $7.72 billion and EPS of $0.77, both slightly below analyst expectations, while revenue declined 4.2% year over year. The stock opened at $45.99, down 2.7%, and trades below its 52-week high of $57.02.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 421,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,262,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.70% of United Natural Foods at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $656,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 111,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 38,504 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,117 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 58.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 332,973 shares of the company's stock worth $9,120,000 after buying an additional 122,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 10.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 625,481 shares of the company's stock worth $17,132,000 after buying an additional 58,705 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UNFI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Natural Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on United Natural Foods from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research cut United Natural Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $515,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,635,695.64. This trade represents a 16.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE:UNFI opened at $45.99 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.63 and a 1 year high of $57.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.68 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.63.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.04). United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 7.42% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

United Natural Foods 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.

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