United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Upgraded to Buy at Northcoast Research

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) was upgraded by research analysts at Northcoast Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 1.0 %

UNFI stock opened at $19.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 0.63. United Natural Foods has a 52 week low of $8.58 and a 52 week high of $23.15.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 15,152 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total value of $299,706.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,986,366.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC raised its holdings in United Natural Foods by 385.6% in the 1st quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 58,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 46,845 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 6.3% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 93,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 5,516 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 317.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in United Natural Foods by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 41,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 12,124 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

About United Natural Foods

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.