United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.71 billion. United Natural Foods had a net margin of 0.27% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. United Natural Foods updated its FY 2027 guidance to 3.000-3.500 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from United Natural Foods’ conference call:

• Positive Sentiment: UNFI reported fiscal 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $701 million, up 27% year over year, and record free cash flow of $323 million. Net leverage fell to 2.2x from 3.3x, supported by lower debt and refinancing savings.
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects fiscal 2027 Adjusted EBITDA of $730 million to $780 million, or high-single-digit growth at the midpoint, with Adjusted EPS of $3.00 to $3.50. The company said the outlook positions it to reach its fiscal 2028 margin target one year early.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 sales are expected to rise about 1% at the midpoint to $31.2 billion-$31.8 billion, but revenue is likely to decline in the first quarter as optimization actions and project work are lapped before returning to profitable growth in the second half.
• Negative Sentiment: Conventional product sales declined mid-single digits and retail sales fell 8% in the quarter, while higher fuel costs, low-single-digit inflation, and increased fiscal 2027 capital spending of about $300 million are expected to pressure results and offset some EBITDA growth in free cash flow.
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized a new $200 million share-repurchase program after UNFI repurchased approximately $50 million of stock in fiscal 2026, while management plans to reduce leverage below 2.0x by the end of fiscal 2027.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of United Natural Foods stock opened at $44.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.29. United Natural Foods has a one year low of $27.97 and a one year high of $57.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNFI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $43.00) on shares of United Natural Foods in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.29.

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Mark Bushway sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 51,119 shares in the company, valued at $2,635,695.64. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 34,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in United Natural Foods by 784.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 66,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,238,000 after buying an additional 59,346 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 42,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,938,000. Finally, VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $886,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a distributor of natural, organic, specialty, fresh and conventional food products in the United States and Canada. The company supplies grocery retailers, independent stores, supermarkets, e-commerce businesses, foodservice operators and other customers with a broad range of products.

UNFI’s offerings include produce, perishables, center-store groceries, refrigerated and frozen foods, beverages, supplements, personal-care products and household items.