United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• UNFI hit a new 52‑week high of $47.99 during mid‑day trading and last traded around $47.30 on volume of about 70,072 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" (3 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Sell) with a consensus price target of $43.63, though some brokers have raised targets as high as $56.
• Fundamentals are uneven: quarterly EPS beat at $0.62 versus $0.51 but revenue missed and fell 2.6% year‑over‑year, the company shows a negative net margin, and it provided FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.30–$2.70.

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $47.99 and last traded at $47.2970, with a volume of 70072 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNFI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of United Natural Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.63.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.72 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $41.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.08.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.25% and a positive return on equity of 6.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.700 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

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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