The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stock Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 738 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 31,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNFI. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. CL King upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE UNFI opened at $31.12 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.91 and a 12 month high of $34.76. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.82 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.84.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 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 firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.