Yahoo Finance

US Equity Market Update for September 15, 2015

(Continued from Prior Part)

Comparing United Natural Foods with its peers

An analysis of United Natural Foods’ (UNFI) income statement in 4Q15 follows:

• The gross profit margins of United Natural Foods, SYSCO (SYY), SpartanNash (SPTN), Core-Mark Holding (CORE), and The Chefs Warehouse (CHEF) are 15.30%, 17.90%, 14.59%, 5.65%, and 25.38%, respectively.

• The EPS (earnings per share) of United Natural Foods, SYSCO, SpartanNash, Core-Mark Holding, and The Chefs Warehouse are $0.72, $0.73, $0.54, $0.57, and $0.13, respectively.

An analysis of United Natural Foods’ valuation follows:

• The PE (price-to-earnings) ratios of United Natural Foods, SYSCO, SpartanNash, Core-Mark Holding, The Chefs Warehouse, and SuperValu (SVU) are 18.70x, 34.31x, 17.40x, 30.02x, 27.89x, and 16.18x, respectively.

• The PBV (price-to-book value) ratios of United Natural Foods, SYSCO, SpartanNash, Core-Mark Holding, and The Chefs Warehouse are 1.88x, 4.46x, 1.33x, 2.97x, and 2.19x, respectively.

According to the above findings, the peers have outperformed United Natural Foods based on the PE and PBV ratios. However, based on the gross profit margin and EPS, the companies had similar performances.

ETFs that invest in United Natural Foods

The Huntington EcoLogical Strategy ETF (HECO) invests 1.20% of its holdings in United Natural Foods. HECO is an actively managed fund that’s comprised of ecologically-focused companies. The fund attempts to generate alpha by selecting sectors that management expects to outperform.

The Shares Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF (JKK) invests 0.83% of its holdings in United Natural Foods. JKK tracks a market-cap-weighted index of US small-cap growth stocks. The index selects from the 70%–90% segment of the market cap based on five factors.

The PowerShares Russell 2000 Equal Weight Portfolio (EQWS) invests 0.71% of its holdings in United Natural Foods. EQWS tracks the Russell 2000 Equal Weight Index. It uses a tiered weighting methodology.

The Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF (RFV) invests 0.53% of its holdings in United Natural Foods. RFV tracks a fundamentally weighted index of US-listed value companies.

United Natural Foods compared to its ETFs

An analysis of United Natural Foods’ price movement follows:

• The YTD (year-to-date) price movements of United Natural Foods, HECO, JKK, EQWS, and RFV are -35.48%, -2.97%, 1.40%, -7.95%, and -8.39%, respectively.

An analysis of United Natural Foods’ valuation follows:

• The PE ratios of United Natural Foods, HECO, JKK, EQWS, and RFV are 18.70x, 22.31x, 53.97x, -59.09x, and 22.28x, respectively.

• The PBV ratios of United Natural Foods, HECO, JKK, EQWS, and RFV are 1.88x, 4.49x, 3.99x, 1.97x, and 1.21x, respectively.