QualityDipStocks / Consumer Discretionary · Food Distributors
United Natural Foods UNFI
Outside our quality screen, so we don’t track its dips. It’s 16% below its 52-week high.
Outside our quality screen, trading well below our fair value estimate.
- Fair value est.
- $81.50+74%
- Market Value
- $45.79price +2%
- Off 52-wk high
- −16%
- Risk vs market
- Lowbeta 0.39
5 bullish · 5 bearish See why
Repriced or dip?
Mixed signals
The price is 16% below its 52-week high (Jun 5), but the business held up: earnings per share turned to a profit, net cash (cash minus debt) +4.7% of market cap since the high, operating margin +0.6 pts.
Some numbers held up (earnings per share turned to a profit, net cash (cash minus debt) +4.7% of market cap since the high, operating margin +0.6 pts), others slipped (free cash flow −18.0%). The price is 16% below its 52-week high.
The price is 16% below its 52-week high, and the business changed too: free cash flow −18.0%.
Within 10% of its 52-week high, so there is no dip to judge yet.
The evidence 10 numbers, high vs now
- Revenue, last 12 months$31.5B → $31.2B (−1.2%)about the same
- Revenue growth rate−0.4% → −2.0% a year (−1.5 pts)about the same
- Earnings per share, 12 monthsturned to a profitheld up
- Free cash flow, 12 months$394M → $323M (−18.0%)changed
- Operating margin0.0% → 0.7% (+0.6 pts)held up
- Shares outstanding+0.2% (more shares, each owns less)held up
- Net cash (cash minus debt)+4.7% of market cap since the highheld up
- Stock vs its sector (Consumer Discretionary)stock −16%, sector median +7% since Jun 5changed
- Price fall vs business numbersprice −16%, revenue/EPS/FCF median −10% (shown, not scored)
- Valuation multipleP/FCF 8.8× at the high → 9.1× now (shown, not scored)
Business numbers as reported at the high (12 months to Jan 31, 2026) vs the latest filing (12 months to Aug 1, 2026). Each measure is scored from −1 (business changed) to +1 (business intact) and weighted: revenue, earnings per share, free cash flow, operating margin, revenue growth rate, share count, net cash and the move vs its sector. 60 or more reads as a dip, 40 or less as a repricing. Analyst estimates are not in our data, so they are not used. How to read it
Data-based read, not advice.
Priced in
How much growth the market assumed at the 52-week high, the low and today (a reverse DCF).
At the high ($55.52, Jun 5) the price assumed about −7%/yr free-cash-flow growth; at the low ($31.42, Dec 10) about −15%; today about −7%. The last 3 years delivered 2%/yr (free cash flow).
Dashed line: what the last 3 years delivered, 2%/yr (free cash flow)
| High | Low | Now | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $55.52Jun 5 | $31.42Dec 10 | $46.80 |
| Implied growth | −7% | −15% | −7% |
| P/E | n/a | n/a | 35.0× |
| P/FCF | 8.8× | 5.5× | 9.1× |
| EV/Sales | 0.2× | 0.1× | 0.1× |
What this means: the higher the implied growth, the more the price already counts on. If today's number sits well below what the business has delivered, the market expects less than its track record.
How it’s computed
Reverse DCF: the same 10-year free-cash-flow model as our fair value estimate (9.5% discount rate, growth for years 1–5 fading to 3% by year 10, 3% after), solved for the growth that makes it equal the market value at each price. For the high and the low we use only the filings that were public on that day, so nothing from a later report leaks back. Market value = that close × diluted shares. P/E = market value / 12-month net income; Price / FCF = market value / 12-month free cash flow; EV / Sales = (market value + debt − cash) / 12-month revenue. Hidden when the share count moved over 20% (split, merger), free cash flow is negative, or the company reports in another currency.
Valuation
What we estimate it's worth, and how it ranks on value vs every stock we cover.
Fair value estimate
How the range is computed
Ten-year free-cash-flow DCF. Same 10-year free-cash-flow model as the base: discount rate 9.5% ±1 point and growth 3.0% ±2 points. Bear = 10.5% and 1.0%; bull = 8.5% and 5.0% (both fade to 3%). A model estimate from public filings, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Price is below even the bear case.
What the price implies To be worth today’s price, UNFI’s free cash flow would need to shrink about 7% a year for five years; our estimate uses 3%.
Risk vs market
How risk vs market is measured
One year of daily returns (Oct 31 to Nov 2, 252 sessions). Beta = how much UNFI moved for each 1% move in the S&P 500 (SPY); 1.0 moves with the market. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Past behavior, not a forecast.
Moves much less than the market, but its own price swings are 3.3× the S&P 500’s (it moves on its own news).
- Beta vs S&P 500
- 0.39
- Volatility
- 42% vs 13% SPY
- Correlation SPY
- 0.12
- Correlation QQQ
- 0.08
How it ranks
Where UNFI stands vs every one of the 1,996 stocks we cover that has the number. Longer bar = better.
Top quarter on 2 of 6 measures
- Discount to fair value estimate74% · price below our base caseTop 15%of 1,314
- Free cash flow yield11% · free cash flow vs market capTop 9%of 1,391
- Dividends + buybacks yield1.7% · cash paid out or used to retire shares, vs market capLowest 37%of 1,836
- Revenue growth, last 12 months−2% · vs the 12 months beforeLowest 8%of 1,814
- Operating margin0.7% · of sales kept as operating profitLowest 14%of 1,288
- Return on invested capital5.5% · profit per dollar of capitalLowest 27%of 838
From SEC filings and our fair value estimate model. A ranking, not advice.
Valuation details
DCF $81.50 · MV $45.79 · FCF value $179.68
Assumes 3.0% growth for 5 years (revenue grew 1.0% a year FY23–FY26; floored at 3%), fading to 3%; 9.5% discount rate, 3% terminal growth. FCF base $5.14 a share (fiscal year to Aug 1, 2026), from the 10-K filed Sep 14, 2026. Net debt $1.5B, not deducted.
Fundamentals
The business itself: sales, profits, cash and debt, from SEC filings.
Bull vs bear
Rule-based from the data on this page, strongest first. Not advice.
Top bullish points 5 of 5
ValuationOur DCF fair value estimate is $81.50, 74% above the price.
ValuationFree-cash-flow yield of 11.0% (price / FCF 9.1×): $323M of free cash in the last 12 months.
Cash returnsFree cash flow grew 35% over the last 12 months vs the 12 months before.
Balance sheetPaid down debt: $1.6B at FY2026, 25% less than at FY2024.
ValuationEV/EBITDA of 8.7×: modest for what the business earns before interest, tax and depreciation.
Top bearish points 5 of 5
Balance sheetOperating income covers interest only 1.7× over the last 12 months.
Balance sheetNet debt of $1.5B, 52% of the market cap (Aug 1, 2026).
ProfitabilityReturn on invested capital of 6%, below the 9.5% discount rate our DCF uses.
Cash returnsShare count up 3.6% in a year: existing holders are being diluted.
QualityDoesn’t pass our quality screen: ROE under 12% and ROIC under 10%; sales down vs the year-ago quarter; net debt 4.7× EBITDA (limit 3×).
All fundamentals
P/E 35.0 · FCF yield 11.0% · ROE 5%
Valuation
- P/E
- 35.0×Consumer Discretionary median 20.7×
- Price / FCF
- 9.1×
- FCF yield
- 11.0%
- EV / EBITDA
- 8.7×
- Price / sales
- 0.09×
- Price / book
- 1.81×
- Market cap
- $2.9Bprice × diluted shares
- Enterprise value
- $4.5B
Growth
- Revenue, 12 months
- $31.2B
- Sales growth, 12 months
- −2.0%vs the 12 months before
- Sales growth, 3 yrs
- +1.0%/yrfrom FY2023
- Diluted EPS, 12 months
- $1.34
- EPS growth, last FY
- n/afewer than two years of diluted EPS
- Net income, 12 months
- $84M
- Net income growth
- n/anot reported in its SEC filings
Profitability
- Gross margin
- 13.5%
- Operating margin
- 0.7%
- Net margin
- 0.3%
- FCF margin
- 1.0%
- Return on equity
- 5%
- Return on invested capital
- 6%
Balance sheet
- Cash & short-term inv.
- $37M
- Total debt
- $1.6B
- Net cash
- −$1.5B
- Debt / equity
- 0.96×
- Interest coverage
- 1.7×operating income / interest
Cash flow & returns
- Free cash flow, 12 months
- $323M
- FCF growth, 12 months
- +35%
- Dividend yield
- 0%
- Payout ratio
- n/anot reported in its SEC filings
- Buybacks, 12 months
- $50M1.7% of market cap
- Share count, 1 year
- +3.6%diluted shares vs a year ago
- Stock-based comp
- $61M
Trailing 12 months to Aug 1, 2026; balance sheet at Aug 1, 2026. From United Natural Foods’s SEC filings. Sparklines show up to six fiscal years. n/a means we don’t hold that number, with the reason. How each is computed.
The business
FCF $0.4B · Sales −1%
- Free cash flow, 12 months$0.4B
- Free-cash-flow yield11.0%
- Free-cash-flow margin1%
- Gross margin14%
- Operating margin1%
- Return on invested capital5%
- Return on equity5%
- Sales growth (latest quarter vs year-ago quarter)−1%
- Net debt / EBITDA4.8×
Chart & levels
Where the price is vs its key levels and trends.
Key levels
Every level vs today’s $46.80
- 52-wk lowlowest close, 1 year$31.42−32.9%
- Market Valueavg paid since Sep 8$45.79−2.2%
- PriceMon Nov 2 close$46.80you are here
- 52-wk highhighest close, 1 year$55.52+18.6%
- Fair value est.base case$81.50+74.1%
Momentum & 52-week range
RSI 52 · 5 days −3.0%
Signals
Reversal signal setups, the public ledger and the next earnings date.
Setup & signals
No setup armed
No setup armed, so there’s no trigger or stop to track yet. Reversal signal rules only run on companies that pass our quality screen.
UNFI is outside our quality screen
One text when a published rule fires on one of the 332 quality companies we track: the ticker, the price, the stop and a link to the numbers. Nothing else.
Voices & buzz
Who is talking about it, and how it compares with peers.
Who’s talking about it
Notable investors, executives, analysts and public figures on United Natural Foods in the last 48 hours. Headlines as published, each linked. Their words, not ours.
No notable mentions in the last 48 hours. Checked Nov 3, 1:01 PM ET.
Compare with peers
Closest in size in Food Distributors
Information only, not investment advice. Fair value estimates and talking points are rule-based model output from public data and can be wrong; stop levels are reference points, not orders. How every number is computed.