United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Upgraded by Northcoast Research to Buy

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) was upgraded by equities researchers at Northcoast Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded United Natural Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.40.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.0 %

UNFI stock opened at $19.82 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.52. United Natural Foods has a fifty-two week low of $8.58 and a fifty-two week high of $23.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 0.63.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.94 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 0.54% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total value of $299,706.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,986,366.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 12.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.6% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 37,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 1.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 94,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 138,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.