United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI Shares Purchased by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. by 1,643.2% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 157,344 shares valued at approximately $4.31 million.
• Other large investors, including AQR Capital Management LLC and Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC, also boosted their positions in United Natural Foods, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• United Natural Foods reported earnings of $0.44 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues increasing by 7.5% year-over-year to $8.06 billion.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 1,643.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,344 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 148,318 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.26% of United Natural Foods worth $4,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in United Natural Foods during the first quarter worth $24,171,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 20.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,948 shares of the company's stock worth $66,666,000 after acquiring an additional 415,700 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 241.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 369,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,079,000 after buying an additional 260,862 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 881,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,087,000 after buying an additional 242,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 428.7% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 270,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,402,000 after buying an additional 219,145 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE UNFI traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.26. 584,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,239. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.01 and a 12-month high of $34.76. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -25.44 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNFI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 target price on United Natural Foods and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.