Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Stock Price

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on UNFI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Northcoast Research raised shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Natural Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.20.

United Natural Foods Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNFI opened at $27.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.36 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.98. United Natural Foods has a 52-week low of $8.58 and a 52-week high of $32.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $200,005.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in United Natural Foods by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in United Natural Foods by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

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.