Wall Street Zen Upgrades United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded United Natural Foods to “Buy” from “Hold,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $50.29.
• UNFI reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.69 per share, beating estimates of $0.62, while revenue reached $7.64 billion and declined 0.7% year over year.
• Shares opened at $46.84, up 1.2%, with institutional investors owning 87.63% of the company; BlackRock recently established a stake worth approximately $477.7 million.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $43.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.29.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $46.84 on Friday. United Natural Foods has a 52-week low of $28.71 and a 52-week high of $57.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.95 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.29.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. United Natural Foods had a net margin of 0.27% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.000-3.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In related news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $515,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,119 shares in the company, valued at $2,635,695.64. This trade represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in United Natural Foods in the second quarter worth about $477,650,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 155.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,732,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,047,000 after buying an additional 1,053,081 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 85.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,542,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,453,000 after buying an additional 711,913 shares during the last quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 6.7% in the first quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC now owns 494,371 shares of the company's stock worth $22,276,000 after buying an additional 31,071 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 433,634 shares of the company's stock worth $19,540,000 after acquiring an additional 86,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc NYSE: UNFI is a distributor of natural, organic, specialty, fresh and conventional food products in the United States and Canada. The company supplies grocery retailers, independent stores, supermarkets, e-commerce businesses, foodservice operators and other customers with a broad range of products.

UNFI's offerings include produce, perishables, center-store groceries, refrigerated and frozen foods, beverages, supplements, personal-care products and household items.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.