United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.40.

Several research analysts recently commented on UNFI shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 1.6 %

United Natural Foods stock opened at $26.93 on Friday. United Natural Foods has a twelve month low of $8.58 and a twelve month high of $34.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.15 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.61 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after purchasing an additional 34,522 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $595,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after buying an additional 96,341 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $656,000. Finally, Adero Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. 87.63% of the stock is owned by 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.