Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. Takes $545,000 Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 196.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 925,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,583,000 after purchasing an additional 613,790 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 721.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 615,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,170,000 after buying an additional 540,897 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 20.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,544,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,308,000 after buying an additional 436,680 shares in the last quarter. Towle & Co. acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the third quarter valued at $13,724,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in United Natural Foods by 7.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,603,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,690,000 after buying an additional 169,640 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Natural Foods news, Director James C. Pappas purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $66,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 194,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,466,127.40. This trade represents a 1.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Louis Anthony Martin sold 9,439 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total transaction of $327,250.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 81,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,816,382.78. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting United Natural Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 EPS beat and profit turnaround — UNFI reported $0.62 EPS (above the $0.51 consensus) and swung to higher profit year‑over‑year, showing meaningful margin improvement that supports the bullish case. United Natural Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Guidance Lowered
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised profit guidance (adjusted EBITDA to $710M and FY26 EPS to $2.30–$2.70), emphasizing margin expansion and deleveraging as strategic priorities — a key reason investors are focusing on earnings quality over top‑line growth. United Natural Foods Boosts Profit Outlook, Lowers Sales Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are reacting positively — BMO lifted its PT to $52 (outperform) and other firms raised forecasts after the quarter, providing fresh upside for the stock. BMO and Wells Fargo Raise Targets on Matador (MTDR) and United Natural Foods (UNFI) After Solid Beats
• Positive Sentiment: Operational improvements — management highlighted supply‑chain AI, cost actions and deleveraging that underpin margin durability and cash flow gains cited on the call. UNFI raises adjusted EBITDA outlook to $710M while advancing supply chain AI and deleveraging
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst stance — broker consensus remains around a “Hold” with some boutiques more constructive; sentiment is shifting but not uniformly bullish. United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call emphasized a multi‑year margin roadmap — investors will watch execution over 2026–2028 to validate the strategy. United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Optimizations Drive …
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue weakness and guidance cut — Q2 sales fell ~2.6% to $7.95B, missing estimates, and the company trimmed FY26 revenue guidance below Street expectations, which is a clear near‑term headwind. UNFI’s net sales continue to dip, but executives see brighter days ahead
• Negative Sentiment: Market sensitivity to top‑line misses — past intraday weakness followed the trimmed sales outlook, so any further revenue slippage or execution misses could reverse recent gains. UNFI slides after trimming FY26 sales outlook

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNFI has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of United Natural Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.88.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $40.73 on Thursday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.78 and a fifty-two week high of $43.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.33 and a beta of 1.00.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.11. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.05% and a negative net margin of 0.25%.The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.700 EPS. Analysts predict 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 (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.