United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. CL King raised United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $23.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.16 and a beta of 1.08. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $34.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.70.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.