United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) Upgraded by Zacks Investment Research to “Hold”

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

According to Zacks, “Though shares of United Natural have underperformed the industry in the last three months, its initiatives to boost overall growth remain encouraging. Being the leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty food products, the company also undertakes various acquisitions to grow its distribution network and customer base. Evidently, management completed the integration of Haddon House and Gourmet Guru in third-quarter fiscal 2017. Also, it has been working toward improving its operational efficiencies. However, the company has been struggling with ongoing industry challenges including increased competition. Moreover the grocery business is grappling with food deflation for some time now. An oversupply in some types of food, particularly meat has also dragged prices lower and forced grocery stores into more aggressive promotions. Nonetheless, estimates have remained stable ahead of the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results.”

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UNFI. Jefferies Group LLC set a $44.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets set a $38.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Friday, August 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank AG dropped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.57.

Shares of United Natural Foods (UNFI) traded down 0.87% during midday trading on Monday, reaching $35.48. 92,285 shares of the company were exchanged. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.50. United Natural Foods has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $49.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.39.

United Natural Foods (NASDAQ:UNFI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 6th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. United Natural Foods had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 8.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that United Natural Foods will post $2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. CS Mckee LP raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 0.4% in the second quarter. CS Mckee LP now owns 24,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Liberty Mutual Group Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 0.5% in the first quarter. Liberty Mutual Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 2.8% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.1% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 17,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Advantus Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 3.2% in the first quarter. Advantus Capital Management Inc now owns 6,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc is a distributor and retailer of natural, organic and specialty products. The Company’s segments include Wholesale and Other. The Wholesale segment is engaged in the national distribution of natural, organic and specialty foods, produce and related products in the United States and Canada.