JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 118.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 177,937 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 96,341 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.30% of United Natural Foods worth $2,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 86.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 264,176 shares of the company's stock worth $3,461,000 after buying an additional 122,626 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 352.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 108,181 shares of the company's stock worth $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 84,257 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $917,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 393.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 86,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 69,111 shares during the period. Finally, Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $661,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNFI. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.20.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNFI traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 548,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,531. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $32.20. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.20 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $25.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.70.

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

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.