United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) had its price objective increased by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $48.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 29.07% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on UNFI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Natural Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Natural Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.63.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

NYSE UNFI opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.99 and a beta of 1.00. United Natural Foods has a 1-year low of $20.78 and a 1-year high of $43.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.71.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.05% and a negative net margin of 0.25%.United Natural Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James C. Pappas purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.30 per share, with a total value of $66,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 194,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,466,127.40. This trade represents a 1.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total transaction of $140,953.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 37,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,166.52. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 12,660.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 678,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,861,000 after acquiring an additional 673,658 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 196.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 925,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,583,000 after purchasing an additional 613,790 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 721.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 615,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,170,000 after purchasing an additional 540,897 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,544,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,308,000 after purchasing an additional 436,680 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,885,000. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key United Natural Foods News

Here are the key news stories impacting United Natural Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple broker upgrades/target raises lift sentiment — BMO raised its target to $52 and kept an outperform rating, signaling strong upside from some firms. BMO target
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its target to $46 (hold), giving the stock additional analyst support. Deutsche Bank note
• Positive Sentiment: Roth Capital nudged its target to $38 from $35, and Wells Fargo’s commentary was framed as a positive forecast — more analyst backing after Q2 results. Roth Capital note
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 earnings were mixed: UNFI beat EPS expectations but revenue declined year-over-year and management trimmed its sales outlook; analysts have reacted with both raises and caution. Earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the UBS Global Consumer & Retail Conference (transcript available), reiterating strategic optimizations and margin initiatives that investors will watch for execution. UBS presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage consensus remains around “hold” on average even as some firms raise targets — mixed broker sentiment may limit momentum. Analyst consensus
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder legal notice alleges insiders may have breached fiduciary duties; while at this stage it’s an inquiry/solicitation, litigation risk can create downside pressure and uncertainty. Legal notice
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue softness and a lowered sales outlook from management remain the main fundamental headwinds — these drove cautious parts of the analyst response despite EPS beat. Sales dip coverage

United Natural Foods Company Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI’s core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.