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

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.40.

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNFI shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $24.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.29 and its 200 day moving average is $15.85. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.08 and a beta of 0.62. United Natural Foods has a 52 week low of $8.58 and a 52 week high of $25.23.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during 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%. United Natural Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total transaction of $299,706.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,986,366.94. This represents a 13.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,852,000 after buying an additional 14,928 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in United Natural Foods by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after acquiring an additional 34,522 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Hauser Brothers GmbH grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 912,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods during the third quarter worth $196,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.