United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 1.8 %

United Natural Foods stock opened at $24.15 on Wednesday. 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 has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $34.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.38 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.34 and a 200 day moving average of $25.76.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,450,000 after purchasing an additional 314,587 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $78,842,000 after acquiring an additional 110,608 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,094,000 after acquiring an additional 34,522 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,118,000 after purchasing an additional 442,574 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,852,000 after purchasing an additional 14,928 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.