New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $1.39 Million Stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,839 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $1,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 357,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,776,000 after purchasing an additional 103,800 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 12.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,239 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in United Natural Foods by 58.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 11,130 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 157,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,492,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 50,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 7,486 shares during 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, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total value of $49,656.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,017.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Natural Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:UNFI opened at $9.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.98 and its 200-day moving average is $14.46. The stock has a market cap of $551.01 million, a P/E ratio of -4.75 and a beta of 0.55. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.18 and a 1-year high of $28.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.87 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 1.20%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.