The IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating for United Natural Foods rose from 88 to 96 Wednesday.
The upgrade means the stock is now outperforming 96% of all other stocks in terms of key performance metrics and technical strength. Winning stocks often have a 95 or higher grade in the early stages of a new price run, so that's a good item to have on your checklist when looking for the best stocks to buy and watch.
United Natural Foods has now climbed above a proper buy zone after breaking out from a 23.15 entry in a consolidation.
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The stock has an 81 EPS Rating, which means its recent quarterly and annual earnings growth is outpacing 81% of all stocks.
Its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A shows heavy buying by institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension funds, over the last 13 weeks.
The company reported a 0% EPS gain for Q1. Sales growth came in at 4%, down from 10% in the prior quarter.
United Natural Foods holds the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Wholesale-Food industry group. US Foods Holding and G. Willi-Food Intl are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.
