United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Upgraded to "Buy" at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $36.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price target on United Natural Foods and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised United Natural Foods from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on United Natural Foods from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.13.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:UNFI traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.06. 495,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,322. United Natural Foods has a twelve month low of $12.00 and a twelve month high of $34.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.56 and a 200 day moving average of $27.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -24.33 and a beta of 0.82.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $656,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $462,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth $667,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth $324,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About United Natural Foods

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.