United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on United Natural Foods, with six hold, two buy and one sell rating. The average 12-month price target is $47.86, modestly above the stock’s $44.65 opening price.
• UNFI’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: adjusted earnings were $0.77 per share versus an $0.81 estimate, while revenue declined 4.2% year over year to $7.72 billion.
• Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company, with notable second-quarter buying from Amundi and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System; meanwhile, an insider sold 10,000 shares for $515,600.

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.8571.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UNFI shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Natural Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of United Natural Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Wednesday, June 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $515,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,635,695.64. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 0.6% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 51,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,343,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 1,489.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 193,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,834,000 after acquiring an additional 181,263 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 3.0% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in United Natural Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,904,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in United Natural Foods by 4,409.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,205,486 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,395,000 after purchasing an additional 3,134,401 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of United Natural Foods stock opened at $44.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $48.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.65 and a beta of 0.81. United Natural Foods has a one year low of $27.63 and a one year high of $57.02.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.04). United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc NYSE: UNFI is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI's core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.

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