Brokerages Set United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Price Target at $38.78

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.7778.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered United Natural Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total transaction of $140,953.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 37,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,166.52. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James C. Pappas acquired 2,000 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $66,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 194,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,466,127.40. The trade was a 1.04% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNFI. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 12,660.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 678,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,861,000 after purchasing an additional 673,658 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 196.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 925,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,583,000 after buying an additional 613,790 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 721.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 615,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,170,000 after buying an additional 540,897 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,544,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,308,000 after buying an additional 436,680 shares during the period. Finally, Towle & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,724,000. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of UNFI opened at $40.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of -24.22 and a beta of 1.00. United Natural Foods has a 12-month low of $20.78 and a 12-month high of $43.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.32.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.91 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 4.35% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI’s core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.