United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.87 and last traded at $23.87, with a volume of 479 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.66 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.64.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.94 billion. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other United Natural Foods news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,773,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,235,000 after acquiring an additional 587,163 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,587,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,175,000 after acquiring an additional 321,020 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,267,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,601,000 after acquiring an additional 237,496 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,317,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 86.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 264,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,461,000 after acquiring an additional 122,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

About United Natural Foods

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.