United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• United Natural Foods, Inc. has received an average analyst recommendation of "Hold", with seven analysts advising hold and two recommending buy; the average target price is $28.13.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44, surpassing estimates of $0.22, and achieved revenue of $8.06 billion, reflecting a 7.5% increase year-over-year.
• Institutional ownership is notable, with hedge funds holding 87.63% of the company's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in United Natural Foods.

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.1250.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price objective on United Natural Foods and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised United Natural Foods from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 44,607 shares of the company's stock worth $1,040,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 88.3% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,229 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 66,035 shares of the company's stock worth $1,809,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of United Natural Foods stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.91. 791,967 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 799,679. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $13.84 and a 1 year high of $34.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.58 and a 200-day moving average of $26.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.27 and a beta of 0.82.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.78 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 3.13% and a negative net margin of 0.21%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.700-0.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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.