Wall Street Zen Downgrades US Foods (NYSE:USFD) to Hold

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

Several other analysts also recently commented on USFD. Citigroup raised their price objective on US Foods from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $92.00 price objective on US Foods in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim increased their target price on US Foods from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.00.

US Foods Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE USFD opened at $90.42 on Friday. US Foods has a 52-week low of $57.36 and a 52-week high of $90.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.82.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that US Foods will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at US Foods

In related news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the firm’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of US Foods

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of US Foods by 303.7% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. bought a new position in US Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in US Foods by 120.1% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 482 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in US Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

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.