BMO Capital Markets Raises United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Price Target to $48.00

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $36.00 to $48.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price indicates a potential upside of 19.80% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on UNFI. Zacks Research upgraded United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $24.00 price objective on shares of United Natural Foods and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on United Natural Foods from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI stock opened at $40.07 on Wednesday. United Natural Foods has a 12-month low of $18.81 and a 12-month high of $40.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of -20.55 and a beta of 0.88.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.07. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 2.74% and a negative net margin of 0.37%.The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Natural Foods

In related news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 11,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total transaction of $411,538.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 89,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,161,798.64. This trade represents a 11.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $24,171,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in United Natural Foods by 196.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 925,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,583,000 after acquiring an additional 613,790 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 436,680 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 20.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,433,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,666,000 after acquiring an additional 415,700 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in United Natural Foods by 428.7% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 270,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,402,000 after purchasing an additional 219,145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.