United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.300-2.700 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.150. The company issued revenue guidance of $31.0 billion-$31.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $32.1 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNFI shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.78.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $37.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.65 and a beta of 1.00. United Natural Foods has a 52-week low of $20.78 and a 52-week high of $43.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.64.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.11. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 4.35% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. United Natural Foods’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.700 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In related news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Louis Anthony Martin sold 9,439 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total transaction of $327,250.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 81,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,382.78. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting United Natural Foods

Here are the key news stories impacting United Natural Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat on EPS and upgraded profitability guidance — UNFI reported $0.62 EPS vs. $0.51 est. and raised FY26 EPS guidance to $2.30–$2.70, which supports earnings momentum and valuation expansion. UNFI Surpasses Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Margin improvement, higher adjusted EBITDA outlook and deleveraging — management raised adjusted EBITDA to ~$710M, highlighted margin gains, rising cash flow and AI-driven supply-chain improvements that could sustainably lift profitability. UNFI raises adjusted EBITDA outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/market reception is mixed — brokerages have an average “Hold” and some commentators view recent weakness as a buying opportunity, indicating no clear consensus among analysts. UNFI Given ‘Hold’ Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events ahead — CFO Matteo Tarditi will speak at the UBS Global Consumer & Retail Conference (Mar 12), which could provide additional color on execution and the multi-year earnings runway. UNFI to Participate at UBS Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and trimmed sales outlook — Q2 revenue of $7.95B missed estimates (~$8.11B) and management cut FY26 sales guidance below consensus ($31.0–31.4B vs. ~$32.1B est.), creating uncertainty about top-line recovery. UNFI Reports Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares slid after the sales guidance cut despite the profit beat — short-term downside risk remains if revenue trends don’t stabilize or if margin gains fail to offset top-line weakness. UNFI slides after trimming FY26 sales outlook

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Quarry LP bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.