Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,589 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $3,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $595,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 86.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 264,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,461,000 after buying an additional 122,626 shares in the last quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new position in United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth $661,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the third quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the second quarter valued at $917,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on UNFI. UBS Group lifted their price objective on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 1.0 %

UNFI opened at $24.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.72 and a beta of 0.64. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.58 and a 12 month high of $25.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total value of $299,706.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,986,366.94. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.