BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Stock Price

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $36.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on UNFI. UBS Group lifted their price target on United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised United Natural Foods from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Zacks Research raised United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

UNFI stock opened at $39.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -20.24 and a beta of 0.88. United Natural Foods has a 1-year low of $18.81 and a 1-year high of $39.69.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.61 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 2.74% and a negative net margin of 0.37%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 11,655 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total value of $411,538.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 89,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,798.64. The trade was a 11.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 88.3% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in United Natural Foods by 1,672.7% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 975 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 84.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% 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.