Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 12,855 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,855 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $4,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in United Natural Foods in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 661.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,879 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 39.6% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 6,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 12.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

UNFI opened at $23.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -12.49 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $23.68.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.