United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI Shares Sold by Towle & Co.

Towle & Co. trimmed its position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 37.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126,555 shares during the quarter. United Natural Foods comprises approximately 3.7% of Towle & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Towle & Co.’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $9,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the third quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 2.8%

UNFI stock opened at $48.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.88 and a twelve month high of $57.02. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.78 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.72 and a 200-day moving average of $44.45.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.79 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 7.42% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $515,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,119 shares in the company, valued at $2,635,695.64. The trade was a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Danielle Benedict sold 4,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $249,964.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,440. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Natural Foods Company 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.