Senvest Management LLC Purchases Shares of 664,991 United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Senvest Management LLC purchased a new position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 664,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,161,000. Senvest Management LLC owned about 1.11% of United Natural Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $454,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 208,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,694,000 after acquiring an additional 84,572 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth $845,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 796.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,207,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI opened at $24.15 on Monday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.58 and a 52-week high of $34.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -15.38 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on UNFI. StockNews.com raised United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. CL King raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. 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, United Natural Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

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.