United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.40.

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNFI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Northcoast Research upgraded United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,949,617.80. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $22,852,000 after purchasing an additional 14,928 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 acquiring an additional 34,522 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Hauser Brothers GmbH raised its position in United Natural Foods by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 912,034 shares of the company's stock worth $15,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $196,000. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:UNFI opened at $22.83 on Thursday. United Natural Foods has a 12 month low of $8.58 and a 12 month high of $23.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.41.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.94 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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.