United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $26.73, but opened at $26.16. United Natural Foods shares last traded at $26.15, with a volume of 27,890 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNFI. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

United Natural Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.58 and a 200 day moving average of $24.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.93 and a beta of 0.56.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Natural Foods

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,531,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,450,000 after buying an additional 314,587 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,886,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,842,000 after buying an additional 110,608 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after buying an additional 34,522 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,118,000 after buying an additional 442,574 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Natural Foods by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,358,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,852,000 after buying an additional 14,928 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is 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.