United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on United Natural Foods, with seven holds and two buys. The average 12-month price target is $52, compared with the stock’s opening price of $46.23.
• UNFI exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.69 in EPS versus the $0.62 consensus, while revenue of $7.64 billion fell short of estimates and declined 0.7% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 87.63%, with BlackRock initiating a sizable position and Wellington Management increasing its stake by 85.7% during the second quarter.

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

UNFI has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Roth Capital restated 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. Zacks Research cut United Natural Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on United Natural Foods from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 0.5%

UNFI stock opened at $46.23 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.00. United Natural Foods has a 12 month low of $30.91 and a 12 month high of $57.02. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.71 billion. United Natural Foods had a net margin of 0.27% and a return on equity of 10.51%. United Natural Foods's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.000-3.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 3.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth $477,650,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in United Natural Foods by 85.7% in the 2nd 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. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $19,262,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $18,672,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company's stock.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc NYSE: UNFI is a major grocery wholesaler and distributor serving food retailers and other customers across the United States and Canada. The company supplies natural, organic, specialty, fresh, and conventional grocery products to supermarkets, independent retailers, food cooperatives, and other businesses.

UNFI's product offerings include fresh produce, dairy, meat and seafood, grocery and packaged foods, beverages, supplements, and personal-care products. In addition to distributing products from numerous manufacturers and brands, the company offers private-label products and provides services such as merchandising, marketing, category management, professional support, and supply-chain solutions.

Founded in 1976, UNFI expanded significantly through acquisitions, including its 2018 acquisition of Supervalu, which strengthened its conventional grocery distribution operations and customer network.

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