United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $25.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 17.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UNFI. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.40.

United Natural Foods Stock Up 6.3 %

NYSE UNFI traded up $2.00 on Thursday, reaching $33.97. The stock had a trading volume of 499,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,463. United Natural Foods has a 1 year low of $8.58 and a 1 year high of $34.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.64 and a beta of 0.62.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,094,000 after buying an additional 34,522 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $595,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 96,341 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth $656,000. Finally, Adero Partners LLC bought a new stake in United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $243,000. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.