United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Trading Down 5.9% – Here’s Why

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) fell 5.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $53.16 and last traded at $52.2340. 541,055 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 705,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNFI. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on United Natural Foods from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.63.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 7.0%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.73 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

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

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 4,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $249,964.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 98,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,120,440. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.