It is doubtless a positive to see that the United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) share price has gained some 46% in the last three months. Meanwhile over the last three years the stock has dropped hard. Regrettably, the share price slid 58% in that period. So it is really good to see an improvement. The rise has some hopeful, but turnarounds are often precarious.

On a more encouraging note the company has added US$92m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the three-year loss for shareholders.

United Natural Foods wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.

In the last three years, United Natural Foods saw its revenue grow by 4.6% per year, compound. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. It's likely this weak growth has contributed to an annualised return of 17% for the last three years. It can be well worth keeping an eye on growth stocks that disappoint the market, because sometimes they re-accelerate. After all, growing a business isn't easy, and the process will not always be smooth.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. If you are thinking of buying or selling United Natural Foods stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

A Different Perspective

United Natural Foods shareholders are down 31% for the year, but the market itself is up 25%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 8%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand United Natural Foods better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for United Natural Foods that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: most of them are flying under the radar).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com