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

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.60.

UNFI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Northcoast Research raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $28.49 on Monday. United Natural Foods has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $32.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.15 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,617.80. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 34,522 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 49.5% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,773,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,235,000 after purchasing an additional 587,163 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,852,000 after purchasing an additional 14,928 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 23.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,601,000 after purchasing an additional 237,496 shares during the period. Finally, Hauser Brothers GmbH grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 0.6% during the third quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 912,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.