Brokerages Set United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Target Price at $22.60

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.60.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on UNFI shares. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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. Northcoast Research raised United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,617.80. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. State Street Corp boosted 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 valued at $40,094,000 after purchasing an additional 34,522 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 49.5% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,773,670 shares of the company's stock worth $23,235,000 after acquiring an additional 587,163 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the third 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 23.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,601,000 after acquiring an additional 237,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hauser Brothers GmbH boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 0.6% in the third quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 912,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNFI traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $27.92. The stock had a trading volume of 895,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 695,499. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.19. United Natural Foods has a twelve month low of $8.58 and a twelve month high of $32.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -17.80 and a beta of 0.64.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.61 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post 0.72 EPS 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.