Richard Eric Esper Sells 4,375 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Stock

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total transaction of $49,656.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $373,017.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 2.4 %

United Natural Foods stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 704,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,934. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.54. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.86 and a 12 month high of $28.37. The stock has a market cap of $649.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.61 and a beta of 0.56.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.20% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. United Natural Foods's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.03 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 357,350 shares of the company's stock worth $14,776,000 after buying an additional 103,800 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,689 shares of the company's stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 58.2% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,238 shares of the company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 11,130 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 157,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,492,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 17.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 50,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,071,000 after buying an additional 7,486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNFI shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down from $15.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.40.

About United Natural Foods

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.