Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Increases Stake in US Foods Holding Corp. $USFD

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in US Foods Holding Corp by 80.6%, bringing its total shares to 8,707 valued at approximately $565,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Marshall Wace LLP and Hsbc Holdings PLC, also significantly raised their holdings in US Foods during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on US Foods, with multiple firms, including Citigroup and Barclays, issuing "buy" ratings and raising price targets to around $95.00.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its stake in shares of US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Free Report) by 80.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,707 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in US Foods were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in US Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of US Foods by 179.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 17,187 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of US Foods by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 389 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of US Foods by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 18,419 shares of the company's stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in US Foods by 4,602.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 372,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,193,000 after buying an additional 364,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other US Foods news, EVP Dirk J. Locascio sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 115,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,206,160. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on USFD shares. Citigroup began coverage on US Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on US Foods from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $87.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.55.

US Foods Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:USFD opened at $78.0320 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.44. US Foods Holding Corp. has a 52-week low of $56.47 and a 52-week high of $85.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.17 billion. US Foods had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 1.43%.The company's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. US Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.764-3.874 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

US Foods 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USFD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.