Analysts Set United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) Price Target at $13.40

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.40.

A number of analysts have issued reports on UNFI shares. StockNews.com lowered United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

NYSE UNFI opened at $9.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $568.25 million, a P/E ratio of -4.90 and a beta of 0.63. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $28.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.02.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.87 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 1.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total transaction of $49,656.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,017.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,434,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,128,000 after buying an additional 277,636 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,040,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,847,000 after purchasing an additional 199,757 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 136,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,221,000 after purchasing an additional 27,005 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $538,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 176.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 172,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 109,812 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.