United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Raised to “Buy” at CL King

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) was upgraded by analysts at CL King from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $33.00 target price on the stock. CL King’s price target suggests a potential upside of 34.89% from the stock’s previous close.

UNFI has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Mkm boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

Shares of UNFI opened at $24.47 on Wednesday. United Natural Foods has a 52 week low of $8.58 and a 52 week high of $34.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -15.58 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.03.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. United Natural Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that United Natural Foods will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Natural Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNFI. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 931 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in United Natural Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in United Natural Foods during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 796.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.