United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Given New $26.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) had its price target lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on UNFI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on United Natural Foods from $33.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Northcoast Research lowered shares of United Natural Foods from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price target on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.43.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE UNFI traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.25. The company had a trading volume of 244,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,566. United Natural Foods has a fifty-two week low of $11.88 and a fifty-two week high of $34.76. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.94 and its 200 day moving average is $27.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.62 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 207.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,357,212 shares of the company's stock worth $37,065,000 after buying an additional 915,177 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the first quarter valued at $24,171,000. Senvest Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $18,161,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,118,000 after purchasing an additional 442,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 162.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 587,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,050,000 after purchasing an additional 363,962 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.