364,818 Shares in United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI Acquired by Towle & Co.

Towle & Co. bought a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 364,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,724,000. United Natural Foods makes up approximately 3.5% of Towle & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 32.0% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 44,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in United Natural Foods by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $38.77 on Friday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.78 and a fifty-two week high of $43.29. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of -23.36 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.55.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 4.35%. United Natural Foods’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In related news, Director James C. Pappas acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $66,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 194,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,466,127.40. This represents a 1.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total value of $140,953.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 37,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,166.52. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNFI. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 target price on United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.78.

United Natural Foods Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI’s core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.