United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Trading Down 3%

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) shares traded down 3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.82 and last traded at $8.83. 385,143 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 685,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $529.02 million, a P/E ratio of -4.67 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.39.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total transaction of $49,656.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,017.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 35,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management raised its position in United Natural Foods by 17.7% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in United Natural Foods by 0.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 109,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in United Natural Foods by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in United Natural Foods by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 33,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Company 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.