US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of US Foods (NYSE:USFD) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The firm set an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on USFD. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of US Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, US Foods currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

US Foods Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE USFD opened at $83.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.03. 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 $85.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.51.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that US Foods will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at US Foods

In other news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of US Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $4,221,504.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 113,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,165,520. The trade was a 34.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of US Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of US Foods by 6.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 16,130,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,585,000 after acquiring an additional 908,993 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 valued at $986,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,033 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in US Foods by 11.0% during 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of US Foods by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,164,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,530,000 after purchasing an additional 649,950 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of US Foods by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,134,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,449,000 after buying an additional 161,749 shares in the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.