Corton Capital Inc. Grows Stock Position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Corton Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 144.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,251 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,066 shares during the period. United Natural Foods makes up approximately 0.5% of Corton Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Corton Capital Inc.’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $242,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 706,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,294,000 after purchasing an additional 134,841 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 145,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,000 after buying an additional 35,971 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 241.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 369,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,079,000 after purchasing an additional 260,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

United Natural Foods stock opened at $26.36 on Tuesday. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.44 and a 52 week high of $34.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.79 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. 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 $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. United Natural Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNFI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. CL King upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Natural Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.