Aquatic Capital Management LLC Takes Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 207.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,357,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,065,000 after buying an additional 915,177 shares in the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,161,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,118,000 after buying an additional 442,574 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 162.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 587,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,050,000 after acquiring an additional 363,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,450,000 after acquiring an additional 314,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, CL King upgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE UNFI opened at $26.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.48. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.44 and a 52 week high of $34.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.02 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.44.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its 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 business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. United Natural Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.