Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 86,211 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. by 1.1%, now holding approximately 12.36% of the company, worth $204.9 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter, indicating strong interest, with 87.63% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• United Natural Foods reported earnings of $0.44 per share, significantly beating estimates, with revenues of $8.06 billion for the quarter, up 7.5% from last year.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,482,116 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,211 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.36% of United Natural Foods worth $204,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,450,000 after buying an additional 314,587 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,886,938 shares of the company's stock worth $78,842,000 after purchasing an additional 110,608 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 881,982 shares of the company's stock worth $24,087,000 after purchasing an additional 242,293 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 756,585 shares of the company's stock worth $20,662,000 after purchasing an additional 118,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 706,469 shares of the company's stock worth $19,294,000 after purchasing an additional 134,841 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on UNFI. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.13.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of United Natural Foods stock traded up $0.0550 during trading on Monday, hitting $27.4650. The company's stock had a trading volume of 804,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,670. 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 simple moving average of $25.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of -23.88 and a beta of 0.82. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.59 and a 52 week high of $34.76.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.78 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.13%. United Natural Foods's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.900 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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.