United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $52.00

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNFI shares. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $43.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research cut United Natural Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $48.37 on Thursday. United Natural Foods has a 52 week low of $30.91 and a 52 week high of $57.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.24.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. United Natural Foods had a net margin of 0.27% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.000-3.500 EPS. Analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 3.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $477,650,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 85.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,542,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,453,000 after buying an additional 711,913 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth about $19,262,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth about $18,672,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the second quarter worth about $15,984,000. 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 major grocery wholesaler and distributor serving food retailers and other customers across the United States and Canada. The company supplies natural, organic, specialty, fresh, and conventional grocery products to supermarkets, independent retailers, food cooperatives, and other businesses.

UNFI’s product offerings include fresh produce, dairy, meat and seafood, grocery and packaged foods, beverages, supplements, and personal-care products. In addition to distributing products from numerous manufacturers and brands, the company offers private-label products and provides services such as merchandising, marketing, category management, professional support, and supply-chain solutions.

Founded in 1976, UNFI expanded significantly through acquisitions, including its 2018 acquisition of Supervalu, which strengthened its conventional grocery distribution operations and customer network.