Analysts Set United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) PT at $38.78

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.7778.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNFI. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $27.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research upgraded United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price objective on United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st.

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In other United Natural Foods news, Director James C. Pappas purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.30 per share, for a total transaction of $66,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 194,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,466,127.40. This represents a 1.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Louis Anthony Martin sold 9,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total value of $327,250.13. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 81,234 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,382.78. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in United Natural Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 4,266.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 88.3% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 32.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

United Natural Foods stock opened at $34.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.63 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.69. United Natural Foods has a 52 week low of $20.78 and a 52 week high of $43.29.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.91 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 4.35% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.