United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Trading Up 4.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) were up 4.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $54.96 and last traded at $55.2960. Approximately 147,752 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 700,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on UNFI shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of United Natural Foods from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.63.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $49.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -42.63 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 4,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $249,964.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,120,440. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 359,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,201,000 after purchasing an additional 144,322 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 13,669 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 433,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,540,000 after purchasing an additional 86,605 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 293.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 64,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 48,099 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.