Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Takes $196,000 Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 11,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 12.2% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 7.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its position in United Natural Foods by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in United Natural Foods by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 37,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 94,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,617.80. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $25.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.82 and a 200 day moving average of $16.16. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $25.35. 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 (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.