United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

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

United Natural Foods Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of United Natural Foods stock opened at $27.60 on Wednesday. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $34.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -17.58 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.28.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,000. Amundi increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 368.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 62,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,813,000 after acquiring an additional 49,427 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the third 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 96,341 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth $656,000. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Natural Foods

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.