United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Up 6.3% After Analyst Upgrade

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) shares traded up 6.3% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $16.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. United Natural Foods traded as high as $14.27 and last traded at $14.24. 132,707 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 690,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.40.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UNFI. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on United Natural Foods from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Natural Foods presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total value of $49,656.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $373,017.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 745,628 shares of the company's stock worth $12,102,000 after purchasing an additional 115,308 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,434,767 shares of the company's stock worth $105,128,000 after purchasing an additional 277,636 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,040,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,847,000 after acquiring an additional 199,757 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 136,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,221,000 after acquiring an additional 27,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 176.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 172,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 109,812 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $921.87 million, a P/E ratio of -7.95 and a beta of 0.61.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.20% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The business had revenue of $7.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.