United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI)’s stock went up by 6% on Thursday as the organic food distributor released preliminary results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 that were above Wall Street expectations. Furthermore, the firm increased its guidance for the next fiscal year further inducing a positive reaction on the stock. According to United Natural Foods, it expects earnings per share between $0.72 and $0.73 and revenue of $2.060 billion to $2.065 billion for the fourth quarter, about 16.7% to 17.0% higher than delivered in the same quarter last year. This guidance is in line to above the consensus estimates of $0.72 EPS and revenues of $2.05 billion analysts are expecting.
For the full fiscal year, United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI) expects adjusted earnings per share of $2.85 to $2.86 and revenue between $8.18 billion and $8.19 billion, raising its lower bound forecast from the previous $8.15 billion. It should be mentioned, however, that the revised guidance is in line with analyst expectations of $2.86 earnings per share on revenue of $8.19 billion. As for the upcoming 2016 fiscal year, the company said that it expects adjusted EPS in the range of $2.86 to $2.98 on revenues of $8.51 billion to $8.67 billion, bellow earnings estimates of $3.05 per share but in line with the revenue consensus estimate of $8.61 billion. United Natural Foods is expected to report its fourth quarter and full-year results on September 14.
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United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI) witnessed a considerable inflow of capital from smart money during the April – June quarter. Even though the number of investors with long positions declined by two to 15 funds, the aggregate value of their holdings surged to $179 million from $105 million, which, combined with a 17% drop of the stock during the quarter, represents a substantial increase. However, these investors still hold less than 3% of the company.
Fisher Asset Management, helmed by Ken Fisher, ended the second quarter holding the largest position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI) among the hedge funds we track. Fisher Asset Management increased its stake in the company by 85% from the previous quarter to 702,233 shares worth about $44.72 million. Greg Poole’s Echo Street Capital Management also boosted its stake by 209% quarter-over-quarter to 570,130 shares. In terms of new positions, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies acquired 511,350 shares between April and June. Meanwhile, leading the bear heard was Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management, which dumped 75,000 United Natural Foods shares to end the second quarter with 50,000 shares.
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