Analysts Set United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Price Target at $18.40

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.40.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

United Natural Foods stock opened at $23.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -12.49 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.60. United Natural Foods has a one year low of $8.58 and a one year high of $23.78.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 7.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 6.6% in the second quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 3.6% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 37,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 94,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.