United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,227 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 86.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 264,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,461,000 after acquiring an additional 122,626 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,587,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,175,000 after acquiring an additional 321,020 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods during the first quarter worth about $2,317,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth about $661,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods during the third quarter worth about $548,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of UNFI opened at $20.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.98 and a beta of 0.62. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $8.58 and a one year high of $23.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.96.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.94 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 0.54% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. United Natural Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total transaction of $299,706.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,986,366.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on UNFI. Northcoast Research upgraded United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

United Natural Foods Company 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.