United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Trading Down 7.1% – Here’s What Happened

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)’s stock price fell 7.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $26.12 and last traded at $25.49. 40,543 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 660,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNFI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, CL King raised United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 6.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.44 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.05.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.96 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. United Natural Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 198.8% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 31,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 21,234 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth $288,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 188,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,152,000 after purchasing an additional 29,357 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $471,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $524,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.