Highland Capital Management LLC Takes Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 88.3% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 19.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.0% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 66,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 1,672.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 975 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of United Natural Foods stock opened at $40.51 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.97. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.81 and a fifty-two week high of $41.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.77 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.07. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.37% and a positive return on equity of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. United Natural Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on UNFI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $36.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 11,655 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total value of $411,538.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 89,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,161,798.64. The trade was a 11.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.