Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Begins Coverage on United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI)

Equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) in a report released on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 2.3%

United Natural Foods stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.55. The company had a trading volume of 167,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,998. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $20.78 and a 1 year high of $43.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.20 and a 200 day moving average of $31.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.59 and a beta of 0.86.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.17. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 4.35%. The firm had revenue of $7.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total value of $140,953.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 37,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,166.52. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Louis Anthony Martin sold 9,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total transaction of $327,250.13. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 81,234 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,382.78. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 196.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 925,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,583,000 after buying an additional 613,790 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 721.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 615,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,170,000 after acquiring an additional 540,897 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 20.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,544,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,308,000 after purchasing an additional 436,680 shares during the last quarter. Towle & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,724,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,603,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,690,000 after buying an additional 169,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

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.