Petrus Trust Company LTA Trims Stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA reduced its holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. by 58.9% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 8,386 shares worth approximately $230,000.
• In contrast, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 20.6%, amassing around 2.43 million shares valued at over $66 million.
• Equity analysts have varied price targets for United Natural Foods, with UBS Group raising its target from $26.00 to $29.00, while BMO Capital Markets lowered its target from $32.00 to $25.00, averaging a consensus price target of $28.13.

Petrus Trust Company LTA trimmed its stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 58.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,386 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,017 shares during the period. Petrus Trust Company LTA's holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $24,171,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in United Natural Foods by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,666,000 after buying an additional 415,700 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 37.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 428.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,571,000. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNFI shares. UBS Group upped 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. Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised United Natural Foods from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price objective on United Natural Foods and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.13.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.26. The company had a trading volume of 584,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,597. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.01 and a 52-week high of $34.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.44 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.49.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.