United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Stock Rating Lowered by Northcoast Research

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) was downgraded by analysts at Northcoast Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on UNFI. UBS Group reduced their price objective on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. CL King upgraded United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen raised United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.43.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $21.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.57 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.69. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $11.88 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.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.22. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 1,672.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 796.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.