United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. CL King upgraded United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 1.6 %

UNFI opened at $24.63 on Tuesday. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $34.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -15.69 and a beta of 1.08.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.96 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. United Natural Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after buying an additional 34,522 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,852,000 after acquiring an additional 14,928 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 118.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,993,000 after acquiring an additional 96,341 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

About United Natural Foods

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.