United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Trading 6.6% Higher Following Strong Earnings

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) rose 6.6% on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $26.32 and last traded at $26.19. Approximately 203,130 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 647,407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.57.

The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.96 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNFI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. CL King raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,450,000 after acquiring an additional 314,587 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,886,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,842,000 after purchasing an additional 110,608 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,094,000 after buying an additional 34,522 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,118,000 after buying an additional 442,574 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,852,000 after acquiring an additional 14,928 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 11.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.51 and a beta of 0.56. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.05.

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.