Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 290,485 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,215 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of United Natural Foods worth $7,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 194,772 shares of the company's stock worth $3,276,000 after acquiring an additional 9,916 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $157,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNFI. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.40.

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United Natural Foods Stock Down 1.5 %

UNFI traded down $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.02. 744,657 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 608,208. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.57. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $34.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.85 and a beta of 0.62.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.