United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Down 7.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) dropped 7.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $26.12 and last traded at $25.49. Approximately 40,543 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 660,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. CL King raised shares of 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. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.03 and a beta of 0.56. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.16.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in United Natural Foods by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in United Natural Foods by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in United Natural Foods by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in United Natural Foods by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in United Natural Foods by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 31,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 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.