Piper Jaffray Upgrades United Natural Foods (UNFI) to Overweight

Piper Jaffray upgraded United Natural Foods (NASDAQ: UNFI) from Neutral to Overweight with a price target of $74.00 (from $70.00) citing growth despite slower Whole Food comps and broad exposure to next generation foods.

Sean P. Naughton commented, "We are moving from Neutral to Overweight on United Natural Foods on the heels of our positive survey results on the natural/organic food sector as well as a more attractive valuation relative to our downgrade on the shares to start the year. In addition, we believe the company is well positioned to benefit from SKU proliferation at conventional retailers as well as the square footage growth in specialty grocery. While FY15 may be a little lumpy as the company integrates the Tony’s acquisition, we believe the company is in a better place to handle extreme weather conditions this year, continues to effectively implement warehouse management tools, and has a demonstrated track record of hitting its guidance."

The firm bumped FY 2014 EPS from $2.01 to $2.05 and FY 2015 EPS from $3.32 to $3.37.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on United Natural Foods click here. For more ratings news on United Natural Foods click here.

Shares of United Natural Foods closed at $62.77 yesterday.

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