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

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.43.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. CL King raised United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE:UNFI traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $21.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,463,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 721,662. United Natural Foods has a twelve month low of $11.88 and a twelve month high of $34.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.76 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.74.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.22. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,450,000 after buying an additional 314,587 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,886,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,842,000 after acquiring an additional 110,608 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,666,000 after acquiring an additional 415,700 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 207.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,357,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,065,000 after purchasing an additional 915,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in United Natural Foods during the first quarter worth about $24,171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

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.