United Natural Foods Rises Slightly After Q1 Earnings Beat

United Natural Foods (NASDAQ: UNFI) is up less than one percent in after hours trading after the company announced its first quarter earnings results.

The company reported a Q1 adjusted EPS of $0.56 versus the Street estimate of $0.54.

Revenue came in at $1.6 billion versus the Street estimate of $1.61 billion. Sales were up 13 percent year-over-year.

United Natural Foods expects to report an FY2014 EPS between $2.40 and $2.50 -- just shy of the Street prediction of $2.51.

"Continued demand and UNFI's focus on its core strategies delivered strong results during the first quarter of fiscal 2014," Steven Spinner, President and Chief Executive Officer of, said in a company release. "As we grow into new facilities, channels and geographies, UNFI is well positioned to continue its growth."

Year-to-date, shares of United Natural Foods have risen more than 25 percent. The company is up more than 32 percent over the last 12 months.

In September, United Natural Foods announced that it would acquire Trudeau Foods for an undisclosed sum. As the largest Minnesota-based distributor of natural, organic and specialty food products, Trudeau Foods could allow United Natural Foods to reach new markets.

"This acquisition is the latest step in our strategy to grow our market share and deliver a complete basket of specialty, natural and organic products to our customers," Spinner remarked. "We are excited to welcome Trudeau Foods to our organization. Both companies have a tremendous history of commitment to servicing their customers, and we are enthusiastic about the growth prospects for this market."

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.

Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ