Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Stock

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $23.00 to $25.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

UNFI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.20.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI opened at $27.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -17.36 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.98. United Natural Foods has a 52-week low of $8.58 and a 52-week high of $32.20.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The company had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,949,617.80. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 85.7% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the second quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $157,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.