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

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research 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 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.20.

UNFI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $28.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.48. United Natural Foods has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $32.20.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.61 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 7.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 85.7% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.