Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys New Stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 68,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.11% of United Natural Foods at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $656,000. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $228,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth $442,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $364,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 196.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 925,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,583,000 after buying an additional 613,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNFI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $34.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of -20.87 and a beta of 0.82. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.78 and a 1 year high of $43.29.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 4.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 11,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total value of $411,538.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 89,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,161,798.64. The trade was a 11.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total value of $140,953.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 37,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,166.52. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI’s core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.