HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Position 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 lowered its stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,794 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,199 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of United Natural Foods worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $24,171,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,450,000 after acquiring an additional 314,587 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 241.1% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 369,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,079,000 after acquiring an additional 260,862 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 881,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,087,000 after acquiring an additional 242,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,702,000. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNFI traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.26. The stock had a trading volume of 800,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 801,631. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.84 and a 1-year high of $34.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -24.58 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.77.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price target on United Natural Foods and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.13.

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.