<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report)</span> was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>United Natural Foods</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>US Foods is Managing Inflation Deceleration the Right Way</li></ul><p>Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Roth Capital  reissued a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $27.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo &amp; Company dropped their price target on shares of United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Natural Foods from $29.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings  reaffirmed a &#34;sell (d-)&#34; rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued  a Buy rating, six have assigned  a Hold rating and one  has issued  a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Natural Foods currently has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus target price of $37.00.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Stock Report on United Natural Foods</b></p><h2>United Natural Foods Stock Up 0.4%</h2><ul><li>The Turnaround in United Natural Foods is Ripening </li></ul><p>Shares of NYSE UNFI opened at $33.65 on Tuesday. United Natural Foods has a 12-month low of $20.78 and a 12-month high of $43.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of -20.27 and a beta of 0.82. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $35.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.46. </p><p>United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 4.35%. The firm had revenue of $7.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS.  As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that  United Natural Foods will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2><ul><li>MarketBeat Week in Review – 6/26 - 6/30</li></ul><p>In other news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total transaction of $140,953.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 37,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,236,166.52. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Louis Anthony Martin sold 9,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total value of $327,250.13. Following the transaction, the insider owned 81,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,816,382.78. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own  2.40% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Natural Foods</h2><p>Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNFI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of  United Natural Foods by 0.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,664,356 shares of the company's stock worth $137,824,000 after purchasing an additional 28,119 shares in the last quarter.  American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in  United Natural Foods by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,746,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,307,000 after buying an additional 142,485 shares in the last quarter.  Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in  United Natural Foods by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,544,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,308,000 after acquiring an additional 436,680 shares during the period.  Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of  United Natural Foods by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,424,195 shares of the company's stock worth $33,203,000 after acquiring an additional 27,943 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of  United Natural Foods by 40.4% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,300,414 shares of the company's stock worth $48,922,000 after acquiring an additional 374,487 shares during the period. 87.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p><h2>About United Natural Foods</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>United Natural Foods, Inc <span>NYSE: UNFI<span></span></span> is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.  </p><p>UNFI's core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.</p><h2>See Also</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than United Natural Foods</li><li>The Best $1 You'll Spend This Holiday Season</li><li>Holiday surprise: $1 gets you everything</li><li>America’s “most deplorable” Christmas sale</li><li>Market Panic: Trump Just Dropped a Bomb on Your Stocks</li><li>Your family's wealth expires in 2026?</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVVORkk?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="330" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVVORkk"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in United Natural Foods Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider United Natural Foods, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and United Natural Foods wasn't on the list.</p><p>While United Natural Foods currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

UNFI

<p>Zacks Research upgraded United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating. Other analysts have varied opinions, with Roth Capital maintaining a "neutral" rating and a $35 price target, while Jefferies raised their target from $27 to $40. The stock opened at $33.65, with a 12-month range of $20.78 to $43.29. United Natural Foods reported $0.56 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and has set FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS. Insiders have sold shares recently, and institutional investors have adjusted their stakes accordingly.</p>

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research