Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 12,855 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,855 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of United Natural Foods worth $4,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 7.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 6.6% during the second quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 37,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 94,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of United Natural Foods stock opened at $23.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.46. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $8.58 and a one year high of $23.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.49 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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

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.