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

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.20.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNFI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 200.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 0.4 %

United Natural Foods stock opened at $29.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.87 and a beta of 0.62. United Natural Foods has a 12 month low of $8.58 and a 12 month high of $32.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.96.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.