StockNews.com Upgrades US Foods (NYSE:USFD) to “Strong-Buy”

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on USFD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of US Foods from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.82.

US Foods Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:USFD opened at $61.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.29. US Foods has a fifty-two week low of $35.66 and a fifty-two week high of $62.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.74.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. US Foods had a net margin of 1.42% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that US Foods will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at US Foods

In other news, CFO Dirk J. Locascio sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $579,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,225.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On US Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in US Foods by 0.7% in the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in US Foods by 23.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in US Foods by 87.6% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in US Foods by 2.8% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of US Foods by 5.0% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

US Foods Company Profile

US Foods Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in marketing, sale, and distribution of fresh, frozen, and dry food and non-food products to foodservice customers in the United States. The company's customers include independently owned single and multi-unit restaurants, regional concepts, national restaurant chains, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and motels, country clubs, government and military organizations, colleges and universities, and retail locations.