Wall Street Zen Downgrades United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) to Hold

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on United Natural Foods from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.38.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.8%

UNFI traded up $0.87 on Friday, reaching $48.81. 410,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 656,800. United Natural Foods has a one year low of $23.36 and a one year high of $57.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.39. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.96 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.79 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.42%. United Natural Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $515,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,119 shares in the company, valued at $2,635,695.64. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Danielle Benedict sold 4,807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $249,964.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 98,470 shares in the company, valued at $5,120,440. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 155.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,732,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,081 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth $12,885,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,300,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,922,000 after purchasing an additional 374,487 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 912.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 398,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,433,000 after purchasing an additional 359,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 198.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 439,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,811,000 after purchasing an additional 292,496 shares in 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 (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.