Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 7,980 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 68.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,707 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,980 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 27.5% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 189,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,204,000 after purchasing an additional 41,036 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $24,171,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 560.8% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 3,101 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 165,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,543,000 after buying an additional 51,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 677,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,553,000 after buying an additional 20,017 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of UNFI opened at $28.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -24.58 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.71 and its 200 day moving average is $26.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.41. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.84 and a fifty-two week high of $34.76.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.22. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.13%. The business had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. United Natural Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNFI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price objective on United Natural Foods and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of 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. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.13.

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.