United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UNFI. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $16.60.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

United Natural Foods stock opened at $19.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.55. United Natural Foods has a 1-year low of $8.58 and a 1-year high of $23.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.20 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.10 and its 200 day moving average is $12.89.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.94 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. Research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 6.6% during the second quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.6% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 37,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 138,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.