United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.20.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter worth $595,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,937 shares of the company's stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 96,341 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $656,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 21,750 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 3.7 %

UNFI stock traded down $1.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.73. 449,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 561,749. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.94 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.53. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $32.20. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.32.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.61 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current 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.