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

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

Several other research firms have also weighed in on USFD. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

US Foods Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE USFD opened at $85.69 on Monday. US Foods has a fifty-two week low of $57.36 and a fifty-two week high of $85.85. 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 market cap of $19.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.38.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. US Foods had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 1.43%.The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that US Foods will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $4,221,504.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,165,520. This trade represents a 34.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of US Foods

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in USFD. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in US Foods by 303.7% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in US Foods during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in US Foods by 120.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 482 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of US Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in US Foods by 155.6% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

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.