United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) & Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Head-To-Head Contrast

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) and United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Walmart and United Natural Foods”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Walmart	$713.16 billion	1.28	$21.89 billion	$2.85	40.39
United Natural Foods	$31.21 billion	0.09	-$118.00 million	($0.66)	-73.63

Walmart has higher revenue and earnings than United Natural Foods. United Natural Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Walmart, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.8% of Walmart shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.6% of United Natural Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Walmart shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of United Natural Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Walmart and United Natural Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Walmart	3.13%	21.25%	7.60%
United Natural Foods	-0.12%	7.42%	1.57%

Risk & Volatility

Walmart has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Natural Foods has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Walmart and United Natural Foods, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Walmart	0	5	30	1	2.89
United Natural Foods	1	6	2	0	2.11

Walmart currently has a consensus price target of $138.56, indicating a potential upside of 20.37%. United Natural Foods has a consensus price target of $47.86, indicating a potential downside of 1.52%. Given Walmart’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Walmart is more favorable than United Natural Foods.

Summary

Walmart beats United Natural Foods on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc. engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications. The company offers grocery and consumables, including dairy, meat, bakery, deli, produce, dry, chilled or frozen packaged foods, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, floral, snack foods, candy, other grocery items, health and beauty aids, paper goods, laundry and home care, baby care, pet supplies, and other consumable items; fuel, tobacco and other categories. It is also involved in the provision of health and wellness products covering pharmacy, optical and hearing services, and over-the-counter drugs and other medical products; and home and apparel including home improvement, outdoor living, gardening, furniture, apparel, jewelry, tools and power equipment, housewares, toys, seasonal items, mattresses and tire and battery centers. In addition, the company offers consumer electronics and accessories, software, video games, office supplies, appliances, and third-party gift cards. Further, it operates digital payment platforms; and offers financial services and related products, including money transfers, bill payments, money orders, check cashing, prepaid access, co-branded credit cards, installment lending, and earned wage access. Additionally, the company markets lines of merchandise under private brands, including Allswell, Athletic Works, Equate, and Free Assembly. The company was formerly known as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and changed its name to Walmart Inc. in February 2018. Walmart Inc. was founded in 1945 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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. It also provides nuts, dried fruit, seeds, trail mixes, granola, natural and organic snack items, and confections under the Woodstock Farms Manufacturing name; organic, non-GMO project verified, and specialty food and non-food items under the Blue Marble brand name; pet food under the WILD HARVEST brand name; and various products under the ESSENTIAL EVERYDAY, SHOPPERS VALUE, Field Day, EQUALINE, CULINARY CIRCLE, and STONE RIDGE CREAMERY brand names. In addition, the company provides home, health and beauty care, and pharmacy products, as well as private label products through a network of Cub Foods and Shoppers retail grocery stores; and retail store support, pricing strategy, shelf and planogram management, advertising, couponing, ecommerce, consumer convenience, store design, equipment sourcing, electronic payments processing, network and data hosting, point-of-sale hardware and software, automation tools, sustainability, and administrative back-office solution services. Further, it offers consumer and trade marketing programs, and programs to support suppliers in understanding its markets. The company serves chains, independent retailers, and supernatural chains, as well as foodservice, ecommerce, conventional military business, and other sales customers. United Natural Foods, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.