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

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) shares fell 7.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $26.12 and last traded at $25.49. 40,543 shares traded hands 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of -16.44 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.05.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its 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. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,450,000 after buying an additional 314,587 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,886,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,842,000 after acquiring an additional 110,608 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after acquiring an additional 34,522 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,118,000 after purchasing an additional 442,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,852,000 after purchasing an additional 14,928 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.