United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Receives $26.43 Average PT from Analysts

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.43.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNFI. Northcoast Research lowered United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

UNFI opened at $23.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of -20.76 and a beta of 0.82. United Natural Foods has a fifty-two week low of $12.00 and a fifty-two week high of $34.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.78 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 3.13% and a negative net margin of 0.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in United Natural Foods by 207.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,357,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,065,000 after buying an additional 915,177 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the first quarter worth $24,171,000. Senvest Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,161,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,118,000 after purchasing an additional 442,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 162.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 587,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,050,000 after purchasing an additional 363,962 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Company 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.