United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 6.05% and a negative net margin of 0.25%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. United Natural Foods updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.400-2.600 EPS.

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

• UNFI said Q3 results showed strong profitability and free cash flow, with adjusted EBITDA up nearly 17% to $183 million and adjusted EPS rising to $0.77 from $0.44 a year ago.
• The company reduced net leverage to 2.5 turns and ended the quarter with net debt of $1.63 billion, its lowest level since fiscal 2018. Management also highlighted a $150 million debt prepayment and a refinancing that lowered annual borrowing costs.
• Underlying sales, excluding optimization actions and short-term project work, were said to be in line with the low-single-digit growth of UNFI’s target market. Management expects the broader wholesale business to return to sales growth in fiscal 2027.
• The company pointed to ongoing productivity and supply-chain gains, including higher DC productivity, improved fill rates and on-time deliveries, and expanded use of AI-based planning and fleet-management tools. Lean daily management is now deployed in 40 distribution centers.
• For Q4, UNFI kept its outlook midpoints but said it is balancing continued operational benefits against higher fuel and transportation costs and some additional investment in technology and supply chain capabilities. Management reiterated confidence in a return to growth in fiscal 2027.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 10.9%

Shares of UNFI opened at $46.02 on Wednesday. United Natural Foods has a 1-year low of $20.78 and a 1-year high of $57.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.40 and a beta of 0.81.

More United Natural Foods News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management said adjusted EBITDA and margins improved in the quarter, highlighting better profitability and some margin upside. United Natural Foods Earnings Call Highlights Margin Upside
• Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed a roughly $695 million adjusted EBITDA midpoint and said it expects to return to growth in fiscal 2027, which suggests management sees a path to recovery. UNFI expects return to growth in fiscal 2027 while reiterating $695M adjusted EBITDA midpoint
• Neutral Sentiment: UNFI’s quarterly earnings of $0.77 per share matched expectations, but revenue came in at $7.72 billion versus the $7.80 billion consensus, with sales down 4.2% year over year. Quarterly earnings release and transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said higher energy costs and reduced SNAP benefits are pressuring consumers, while also noting sales and free cash flow pressure in the quarter and narrowing FY2026 guidance. United Natural Foods Warns Higher Energy Prices, SNAP Cuts Are Impacting Consumers
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear focused on the revenue shortfall and softer guidance, which are outweighing the better margin and earnings results and driving the stock down. United Natural Foods shares fall after quarterly revenue miss

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNFI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised United Natural Foods from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on United Natural Foods from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $12,885,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,300,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,922,000 after acquiring an additional 374,487 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 912.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 398,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,433,000 after acquiring an additional 359,541 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 198.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 439,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,811,000 after acquiring an additional 292,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $9,472,000. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

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.