Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $5.51 Million Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 379.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,622 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 159,572 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.34% of United Natural Foods worth $5,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 46.0% in the 4th 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 holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 200.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

United Natural Foods stock opened at $27.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.58 and a beta of 0.56. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $34.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.28.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNFI shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

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.