US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of US Foods (NYSE:USFD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of US Foods from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius Research raised US Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of US Foods in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, US Foods has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $70.33.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of USFD opened at $65.50 on Thursday. US Foods has a 12-month low of $49.65 and a 12-month high of $73.19. The stock has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.98.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $9.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.47 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 15.03%. As a group, research analysts predict that US Foods will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at US Foods

In related news, Director David W. Bullock bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.06 per share, for a total transaction of $284,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $319,770. This represents a 800.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On US Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of US Foods by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,744,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $860,460,000 after purchasing an additional 77,012 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in US Foods by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,106,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,548,000 after buying an additional 2,435,357 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in US Foods by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,045,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,299,000 after buying an additional 316,061 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of US Foods by 4.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,841,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,781,000 after acquiring an additional 291,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of US Foods by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,304,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,369,000 after acquiring an additional 292,404 shares during 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.