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

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.20.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 393.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 86,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 69,111 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the third quarter worth $548,000. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 7.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 85.7% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI opened at $30.30 on Tuesday. United Natural Foods has a one year low of $8.58 and a one year high of $32.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of -19.30 and a beta of 0.62.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.61 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.