Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in United Natural Foods by 10.1% in the first quarter, selling 39,747 shares and ending with 352,928 shares valued at about $15.9 million.
• Several insiders sold shares, including Mark Bushway and Danielle Benedict, while insiders now own about 2.4% of the company and institutional investors hold 87.63%.
• Analysts are mixed on UNFI: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with a $47.86 price target, while recent earnings missed estimates and revenue declined 4.2% year over year.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 352,928 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,747 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.58% of United Natural Foods worth $15,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $515,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,635,695.64. The trade was a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Danielle Benedict sold 4,807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $249,964.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,120,440. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.86.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE UNFI opened at $48.70 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.88 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 50-day moving average of $49.72 and a 200-day moving average of $44.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of -73.78 and a beta of 0.83.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

About United Natural Foods

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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