United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $43.56, but opened at $44.83. Wells Fargo & Company now has a $56.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $40.00. United Natural Foods shares last traded at $47.0180, with a volume of 403,931 shares traded.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on United Natural Foods from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Natural Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, Director James C. Pappas acquired 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.76 per share, with a total value of $506,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 192,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,487,929.28. This represents a 8.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.36 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.33.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.11. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.25% and a positive return on equity of 6.05%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.700 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI’s core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.