US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of US Foods (NYSE:USFD) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on US Foods from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on US Foods from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of US Foods from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of US Foods from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $66.82.

US Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USFD opened at $61.29 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $58.61 and its 200-day moving average is $54.74. US Foods has a twelve month low of $35.66 and a twelve month high of $62.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.66.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. The firm had revenue of $9.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.42% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that US Foods will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at US Foods

In other news, CFO Dirk J. Locascio sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $579,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,563 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,225.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On US Foods

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in US Foods by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of US Foods by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in US Foods by 87.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in US Foods by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in US Foods by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

About US Foods

US Foods Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in marketing, sale, and distribution of fresh, frozen, and dry food and non-food products to foodservice customers in the United States. The company's customers include independently owned single and multi-unit restaurants, regional concepts, national restaurant chains, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and motels, country clubs, government and military organizations, colleges and universities, and retail locations.