US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of USFD opened at $74.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.03. US Foods has a 52-week low of $57.36 and a 52-week high of $85.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at US Foods

In related news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of US Foods 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 113,410 shares in the company, valued at $8,165,520. This trade represents a 34.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On US Foods

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in USFD. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of US Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,605,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in US Foods by 28.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of US Foods by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 10,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 4,492 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of US Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,375,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of US Foods by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the period. 98.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

US Foods Company Profile

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.