Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 80,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,207,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,118,000 after acquiring an additional 442,574 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 162.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 587,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,050,000 after purchasing an additional 363,962 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 146.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 439,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,992,000 after buying an additional 261,172 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 379.5% in the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 201,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,506,000 after buying an additional 159,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $3,637,000. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNFI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, CL King upgraded United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $24.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -15.38 and a beta of 1.08. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.58 and a 52-week high of $34.76.

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 analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 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.