Quest Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the first quarter worth about $38,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 661.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 2,879 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 6,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $24.72 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.58 and a 52-week high of $25.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.08 and a beta of 0.62.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 0.54% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,949,617.80. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNFI has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Northcoast Research raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.40.

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.