Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases 159,572 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 379.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 201,622 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,572 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $5,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 352.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 108,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 84,257 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 92.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 37,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 17,914 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $354,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in United Natural Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $196,000. Finally, Hauser Brothers GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 0.6% in the third quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 912,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,340,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNFI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 0.8 %

UNFI stock opened at $27.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.58 and a beta of 0.56. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.58 and a twelve month high of $34.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.28. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.