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

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.60.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNFI. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. This trade represents a 9.30 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in United Natural Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in United Natural Foods by 27.3% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 65,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 14,140 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 27,431.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 11,247 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,601,000 after buying an additional 237,496 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in United Natural Foods by 116.3% during the second quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 38,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 20,910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $28.86 on Friday. 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 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.38 and a beta of 0.63.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.