United Natural Foods stock gains after upbeat profit, sales outlook

Shares of United Natural Foods Inc. rose 0.7% in afternoon trade Wednesday, paring earlier gains of as much as 5.6%, after the natural and organic foods seller, and parent of the Supervalu grocery chain, provided upbeat fiscal 2019 financial guidance. The company said it now expects a net per-share loss of 50 cents to 70 cents, including expenses $35 million to $40 million in expenses associated with asset divestitures, compared with its previous guidance of a 19-cent loss to a 1-cent profit. Excluding non-recurring items, the company expects adjusted earnings per share of $1.69 to $1.89, above the FactSet consensus of $1.60. Net sales is expected to range from $21.5 billion to $22.0 billion, also above the FactSet consensus of $21.35 billion. Separately, the company said it expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $650 million to $665 million, compared with the FactSet consensus of $636 million. The stock has tumbled 55% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has lost 6.7%.

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