Barclays PLC Purchases 84,572 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 68.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,529 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 84,572 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.35% of United Natural Foods worth $5,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company's stock worth $55,118,000 after purchasing an additional 442,574 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 162.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 587,697 shares of the company's stock worth $16,050,000 after purchasing an additional 363,962 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 146.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 439,109 shares of the company's stock worth $11,992,000 after purchasing an additional 261,172 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 379.5% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 201,622 shares of the company's stock worth $5,506,000 after purchasing an additional 159,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,637,000. 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 research reports. CL King raised United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

NYSE UNFI traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.92. 577,422 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 703,976. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of -16.51 and a beta of 1.08. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $8.90 and a one year high of $34.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.82 and a 200-day moving average of $26.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. United Natural Foods's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

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.