United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, CL King raised United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of UNFI opened at $24.06 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.07 and its 200 day moving average is $25.86. United Natural Foods has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-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 stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.32 and a beta of 1.08.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. 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 hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in United Natural Foods by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in United Natural Foods by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 31,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 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.