United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.60.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on United Natural Foods from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com raised United Natural Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total transaction of $49,656.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,017.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 2,136.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 657,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,668,000 after buying an additional 627,930 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 47.4% during the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,186,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,633,000 after buying an additional 381,396 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,587,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,175,000 after buying an additional 321,020 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in United Natural Foods during the first quarter valued at about $2,317,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 10.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,040,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,847,000 after buying an additional 199,757 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

UNFI stock opened at $13.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $779.06 million, a P/E ratio of -5.44 and a beta of 0.61. United Natural Foods has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $21.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.23.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative return on equity of 0.35% and a negative net margin of 0.47%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.06 EPS for the current 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.