United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.86.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI opened at $48.65 on Monday. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $24.88 and a 1 year high of $57.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of -73.70 and a beta of 0.84.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.04). United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 7.42% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $515,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,635,695.64. The trade was a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in United Natural Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

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.