United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Short Interest Up 2,750.6% in July

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,980,000 shares, anincreaseof2,750.6% from the June 30th total of 174,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $656,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $462,000. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,213,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $341,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 204,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,585,000 after buying an additional 20,652 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:UNFI opened at $27.02 on Friday. United Natural Foods has a 52-week low of $12.00 and a 52-week high of $34.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.28 and its 200 day moving average is $27.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.50 and a beta of 0.82.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.22. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 3.13% and a negative net margin of 0.21%. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded United Natural Foods from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.13.

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.