Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 25,791 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 28.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,791 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 49.5% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,773,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,235,000 after acquiring an additional 587,163 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,587,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,175,000 after buying an additional 321,020 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,601,000 after buying an additional 237,496 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $2,317,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 86.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 264,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after buying an additional 122,626 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $24.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.08 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.85. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.58 and a 52 week high of $25.23.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.94 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. United Natural Foods’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNFI shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Northcoast Research raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total value of $299,706.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,986,366.94. The trade was a 13.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About United Natural Foods

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.