United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Down 3.4% After Insider Selling

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) shares dropped 3.4% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $10.55 and last traded at $10.59. Approximately 135,288 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 666,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.96.

Specifically, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total value of $49,656.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,017.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNFI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $623.53 million, a P/E ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 0.55.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 1.20%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 10.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,040,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,847,000 after acquiring an additional 199,757 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in United Natural Foods in the third quarter valued at about $538,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 136,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,221,000 after acquiring an additional 27,005 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 176.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 172,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 109,812 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in United Natural Foods in the third quarter valued at about $575,000. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.