United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Receives $18.40 Average Price Target from Brokerages

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.40.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UNFI shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in United Natural Foods by 49.5% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,773,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,235,000 after acquiring an additional 587,163 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,587,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,175,000 after purchasing an additional 321,020 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 23.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,601,000 after buying an additional 237,496 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,317,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 86.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 264,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after buying an additional 122,626 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of UNFI opened at $24.88 on Thursday. United Natural Foods has a 1-year low of $8.58 and a 1-year high of $25.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.16 and a beta of 0.62.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.94 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 0.54% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes natural, organic, specialty, produce, and conventional grocery and non-food products in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The company offers grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, wellness and personal care items, and bulk and foodservice products.