United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.83.

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNFI. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $24.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $15.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.41. The company has a market cap of $889.79 million, a PE ratio of 43.46 and a beta of 0.96. United Natural Foods has a 52 week low of $12.88 and a 52 week high of $47.88.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.47) by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $7.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.44 billion. United Natural Foods had a net margin of 0.08% and a return on equity of 7.49%. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post -0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Natural Foods news, Director Ann Torre Bates sold 16,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.94, for a total transaction of $239,951.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO J Alexander Douglas, Jr. purchased 11,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.32 per share, for a total transaction of $150,049.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,517.32. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ann Torre Bates sold 16,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.94, for a total value of $239,951.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 976.1% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 990 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 579.1% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.85% of the company’s stock.

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.