United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $51.64, but opened at $41.93. United Natural Foods shares last traded at $44.4120, with a volume of 708,638 shares traded.

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 negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.42%. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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.

United Natural Foods News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting United Natural Foods this week:

• Negative Sentiment: UNFI missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with Q3 net sales of about $7.72 billion coming in below forecasts and down year over year, which pressured the stock. UNFI Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates, Sales Guidance Range Narrowed
• Negative Sentiment: The company narrowed its full-year guidance and signaled ongoing pressure from higher energy costs and weaker consumer spending, adding to investor concern about near-term growth. United Natural Foods Warns Higher Energy Prices, SNAP Cuts Are Impacting Consumers
• Neutral Sentiment: Management emphasized margin expansion, improved adjusted EBITDA, and deleveraging efforts, suggesting execution is improving even though the top line remains under pressure. UNFI expects return to growth in fiscal 2027 while reiterating $695M adjusted EBITDA midpoint
• Neutral Sentiment: On the earnings call, UNFI framed fiscal 2027 as the likely return-to-growth year, which may reassure long-term investors but does little to offset the immediate sales miss. UNFI Q3 Earnings Call Puts Focus on 2027 Growth Path

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNFI. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised United Natural Foods from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on United Natural Foods from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.38.

Insider Activity at United Natural Foods

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 4,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $249,964.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,120,440. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNFI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $656,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 111,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,064,000 after acquiring an additional 38,504 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 332,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,120,000 after acquiring an additional 122,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 625,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,132,000 after acquiring an additional 58,705 shares in the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.26 and a 200-day moving average of $41.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -76.76 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.33.

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.