Data as of:
LIVE
HAIN
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. · Consumer Staples - Natural & Organic Food Brands
$0.56
-10.78% this month
VERSUS
COMPARE
UNFI
United Natural Foods, Inc. · Consumer Staples - Natural & Organic Food Distribution
$46.54
-0.53% this month
Comparison scoreboard
UNFI LEADS 3/5AI Scorei
HAIN 23.8
UNFI ✓35.1
1Y Returni
HAIN -62.28%
UNFI ✓+51.05%
Fwd P/Ei
HAIN ✓6.50
UNFI 13.82
Target Up.i
HAIN ✓+136.17%
UNFI +11.18%
Op. Margini
HAIN -2.98%
UNFI ✓1.10%
Metrics last refreshed: 9/18/2026
Quick take
HAIN vs UNFI Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
HAIN (Hain Celestial) and UNFI (United Natural Foods) both operate in natural and organic food but at different value chain positions — Hain owns consumer brands (Terra, Earth's Best, Celestial Seasonings) that sit on grocery store shelves, while UNFI distributes those and thousands of other natural/organic brands to grocery retailers. Hain competes for consumer preference; UNFI competes on distribution logistics efficiency.
HAIN vs UNFI is natural food brand portfolio (Hain's organic and natural consumer brands attempting to grow through portfolio simplification and premiumization) versus natural food wholesale distribution scale (UNFI's dominant distribution infrastructure connecting natural food brands to grocery retailers with thin margins and high volume) — brand value capture versus distribution logistics.
Live analysis · updated 9/18/2026
UNFI holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. UNFI has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+51.05% vs -62.28%), though HAIN has the better forward P/E setup (6.50x vs 13.82x for UNFI). UNFI leads on both revenue growth (-4.20%) and operating margin (1.10%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for HAIN (+136.17%) than for UNFI (+11.18%).
Normalized 1Y performance
HAIN
UNFI
Recent returns
HAIN
UNFI
Analyst price targets & sentiment
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
HAIN · 4 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Hold (3.0/5.0)
1 Buy / 2 Hold / 1 Sell
Price target range
analyst low$0.50
analyst high$3.00
analyst mean$1.33
current price$0.56
+136.2% upside to analyst mean
UNFI
Price target range
analyst mean$49.38
current price$46.54
+11.2% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
HAIN may suit investors who:
- Want branded natural and organic food company exposure with portfolio simplification optionality — Hain's ongoing divestiture strategy may unlock hidden brand value as the company focuses on its strongest brands
- Value natural and organic food's secular consumer trend as supporting premium pricing and volume growth for well-positioned brands like Celestial Seasonings and Earth's Best
- Accept the operational complexity of a multi-brand, multi-category natural food company while believing portfolio rationalization will improve profitability
UNFI may suit investors who:
- Want natural and organic food distribution exposure as the infrastructure connecting natural food brands to grocery retailers across the U.S.
- Value UNFI's dominant market position in natural grocery distribution with relationships across Whole Foods, Sprouts, and independent natural retailers
- Accept thin distribution margins and Supervalu integration complexity as tradeoffs for UNFI's distribution scale and the secular growth of natural and organic food requiring distribution to growing retail shelf space
Performance & AI score
| Metric | HAIN | UNFI |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 23.8 | 35.1 |
| AI ranki | #3557 | #1726 |
| Latest closei | $0.56 | $46.54 |
| 1M returni | -10.78% | -0.53% |
| 6M returni | -3.09% | +20.04% |
| 1Y returni | -62.28% | +51.05% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HAIN | UNFI |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $3.77K (-62.3%) started 2025-09-18 | $15.11K (+51.1%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $146 (-98.5%) started 2021-09-20 | $12.96K (+29.6%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $159.91 (-98.4%) started 2016-09-19 | $11.84K (+18.4%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | HAIN | UNFI |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $51.15M | $2.69B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | 6.50 | 13.82 |
| Price/Salesi | 0.04 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 0.44 | 0.19 |
| Analyst targeti | $1.33 | $49.38 |
| Target upsidei | +136.17% | +11.18% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | HAIN | UNFI |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | -27.60% | -4.20% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growthi | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margini | +9.75% | +1.55% |
| Operating margini | -2.98% | 1.10% |
| Profit margini | -22.53% | -0.12% |
| ROIC proxyi | -96.83% | -2.30% |
| Return on equityi | -96.83% | -2.30% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.94 | 0.83 |
| Debt/equityi | 389.06 | 197.25 |
| Current ratioi | 0.50 | 1.33 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.22 | 0.42 |
Correlation
Over the past year, HAIN and UNFI have moved barely in the same direction (correlation of 0.11), based on daily returns.
1Y
0.11
-1.0+1.0
5Y
0.20
-1.0+1.0
10Y
0.21
-1.0+1.0
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
HAIN max drawdowni70.30%
UNFI max drawdowni27.00%
HAIN max wkly dropi32.26%
UNFI max wkly dropi11.55%
5Y risk snapshot
HAIN max drawdowni98.98%
UNFI max drawdowni84.14%
HAIN max wkly dropi52.30%
UNFI max wkly dropi38.97%
10Y risk snapshot
HAIN max drawdowni98.98%
UNFI max drawdowni89.66%
HAIN max wkly dropi52.30%
UNFI max wkly dropi41.26%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | HAIN | UNFI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -62.28% | +51.05% |
| CAGRi | -62.30% | +51.10% | |
| Volatilityi | 91.75% | 45.97% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.66 | 1.03 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.99 | 1.59 | |
| Max drawdowni | 70.30% | 27.00% | |
| Current drawdowni | 65.93% | 16.17% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 44.65% | 10.41% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 48.43% | 12.74% | |
| Max daily dropi | 19.51% | 10.28% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 32.26% | 11.55% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -98.54% | +29.57% |
| CAGRi | -57.10% | +5.32% | |
| Volatilityi | 66.87% | 53.13% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.98 | 0.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -1.29 | 0.41 | |
| Max drawdowni | 98.98% | 84.14% | |
| Current drawdowni | 98.83% | 16.31% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 73.53% | 42.98% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 77.97% | 48.78% | |
| Max daily dropi | 47.65% | 28.05% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 52.30% | 38.97% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | -98.40% | +18.39% |
| CAGRi | -33.88% | +1.70% | |
| Volatilityi | 52.94% | 61.73% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.59 | 0.26 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.79 | 0.38 | |
| Max drawdowni | 98.98% | 89.66% | |
| Current drawdowni | 98.83% | 16.31% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 50.33% | 44.20% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 59.85% | 51.30% | |
| Max daily dropi | 47.65% | 28.37% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 52.30% | 41.26% |
Business comparison
| Category | HAIN | UNFI |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. | United Natural Foods, Inc. |
| Sector | Consumer Staples - Natural & Organic Food Brands | Consumer Defensive |
| Industry | Packaged Foods | Food Distribution |
| Core business | Hain Celestial is a natural and organic food and personal care products company — owning a portfolio of brands across snacks (Terra, Garden of Eatin'), baby food (Earth's Best), teas (Celestial Seasonings), condiments (Imagine, Spectrum), plant-based proteins, and personal care. Hain sells through natural food retailers, conventional grocery, club stores, and mass market channels. | United Natural Foods is the largest publicly traded grocery distributor in the U.S. — primarily distributing natural, organic, and specialty food products to natural food retailers (Whole Foods, Sprouts), conventional supermarkets, independent grocers, and foodservice operators. UNFI acquired Supervalu in 2018 to expand into conventional grocery distribution. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Hain's organic revenue growth (excluding acquisitions and divestitures), operating margin improvement, portfolio simplification as Hain has been divesting non-core brands, and competition within natural/organic branded food segments from both specialty brands and conventional food company natural extensions. | Investors track UNFI's distribution revenue growth, EBITDA margins (thin in distribution — typically 1-2%), the Supervalu integration and any grocery retail store divestitures, and the competitive dynamics in wholesale grocery distribution where margins are structurally thin. |
HAIN strengths
- Established natural and organic brand portfolio with consumer recognition in key natural food categories — Celestial Seasonings, Earth's Best, and Terra chips have decades of consumer loyalty
- Natural and organic food secular growth tailwind — consumer interest in healthier, cleaner-ingredient food has supported organic food sales growth above conventional food sales
- Distribution across natural, conventional, club, and mass channels provides broad retail reach that small natural brands cannot achieve independently
UNFI strengths
- Natural and organic distribution leadership — UNFI has dominant market share in distributing natural and organic products to independent natural food retailers; its scale and supplier relationships are difficult to replicate
- Whole Foods relationship — UNFI has been a primary distributor to Whole Foods Market, giving it stable high-volume distribution business with the U.S.'s largest natural grocery chain
- Supervalu acquisition expanded conventional distribution — UNFI's expansion into conventional grocery distribution diversified its customer base beyond purely natural food retailers
Risks to watch — HAIN
- Brand portfolio complexity — managing dozens of brands across multiple categories is operationally complex; Hain has been divesting non-core brands but execution of the simplification strategy takes time
- Competition from conventional food giants — Nestlé, General Mills, and Conagra have built or acquired natural and organic sub-brands competing directly with Hain in its core categories
- Pricing power limitations — natural and organic consumers are price-sensitive; Hain's branded premium must justify price versus both conventional alternatives and private label organic options at Whole Foods, Costco, and other retailers
Risks to watch — UNFI
- Razor-thin distribution margins — wholesale grocery distribution is inherently low-margin; UNFI's EBITDA margin is typically 1-2%, making debt repayment, capex, and any operational disruption challenging to absorb
- Supervalu acquisition debt — the $2.9B Supervalu acquisition significantly increased UNFI's debt, creating financial pressure as the company tries to integrate and optimize the conventional distribution business
- Amazon ownership of Whole Foods — Amazon's ownership of Whole Foods (UNFI's largest customer) creates risk that Amazon may internalize distribution or find alternative logistics solutions that reduce UNFI's volume
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