United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $53.18 and last traded at $52.2340, with a volume of 613367 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Natural Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.63.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.05% and a negative net margin of 0.25%.The company’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 4,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $249,964.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,120,440. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 155.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,732,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,081 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in United Natural Foods by 721.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 615,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,170,000 after acquiring an additional 540,897 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $12,885,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 40.4% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,300,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,922,000 after buying an additional 374,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Towle & Co. purchased a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the third quarter valued at $13,724,000. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

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.