HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. by 31.6% in the first quarter, now owning 71,794 shares worth approximately $1,966,000.
• Various large institutional investors, including Wells Fargo & Company and Barclays PLC, have modified their positions in UNFI, with overall institutional ownership at 87.63%.
• Analysts have varied price targets for UNFI, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $28.13, reflecting mixed outlooks on the stock's performance.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,794 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,199 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of United Natural Foods worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in United Natural Foods during the first quarter worth $69,000. Quarry LP grew its position in United Natural Foods by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,667 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

NYSE UNFI traded up $0.46 on Thursday, reaching $27.98. 438,768 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,107. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.84 and a 12 month high of $34.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of -24.28 and a beta of 0.82.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.78 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNFI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.13.

United Natural Foods 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.