US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on USFD. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded US Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim upped their target price on US Foods from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $92.00 target price on US Foods in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Insider Activity at US Foods

In other news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $4,221,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,165,520. This represents a 34.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On US Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of US Foods in the second quarter worth about $184,413,000. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in US Foods by 84.4% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,580,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,310 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in US Foods by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,875,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,033 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of US Foods by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,664,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of US Foods by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 16,130,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,585,000 after buying an additional 908,993 shares during the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USFD opened at $90.42 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.70. US Foods has a 12 month low of $57.36 and a 12 month high of $90.73.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. US Foods had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 1.43%.The business had revenue of $10.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that US Foods will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

About US Foods

US Foods (NYSE: USFD) is a leading foodservice distributor in the United States that supplies a wide range of products and services to professional food operators. The company provides fresh, frozen and dry food items as well as non-food restaurant supplies and kitchen equipment. Its customer base includes independent restaurants, multi-unit chains, healthcare and senior living facilities, hospitality businesses, government and educational institutions, and other foodservice operators.

Beyond commodity and branded food products, US Foods offers value-added solutions designed to help customers run their businesses.