Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $462,000 in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 200.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,039 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of United Natural Foods stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 564,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,804. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.38 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.53. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.58 and a 52 week high of $34.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.82.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNFI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. CL King raised shares of United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods 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.