United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.50 and last traded at $22.91, with a volume of 274170 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNFI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.40.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $200,005.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $87,175,000 after purchasing an additional 321,020 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,094,000 after buying an additional 34,522 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $23,235,000 after buying an additional 587,163 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,852,000 after buying an additional 14,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,601,000 after acquiring an additional 237,496 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.