Performance Food Group (NYSE:PFGC) Shares Up 14.4% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Performance Food Group shares rose 14.4% after the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.32, beating analysts’ $1.27 estimate.
• Quarterly revenue was $18.02 billion, matching expectations and increasing 5.5% year over year; EPS was up from $0.60 in the year-ago quarter.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $126; 11 analysts rate the stock Buy and two rate it Hold.

Performance Food Group Company (NYSE:PFGC - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 14.4% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $110.00 and last traded at $110.3980. 955,861 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 1,841,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.51.

The food distribution company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. Performance Food Group had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 0.53%. The business had revenue of $18.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFGC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of Performance Food Group in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Performance Food Group from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Performance Food Group from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Performance Food Group from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Performance Food Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Donald S. Bulmer sold 10,535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.90, for a total transaction of $1,115,656.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 54,291 shares in the company, valued at $5,749,416.90. This represents a 16.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Hugh Hatcher sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.18, for a total value of $297,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,167 shares in the company, valued at $5,769,003.06. This trade represents a 4.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 41,459 shares of company stock valued at $4,317,917 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Performance Food Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFGC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Performance Food Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,576,983,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Performance Food Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,533,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in Performance Food Group by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 384,143 shares of the food distribution company's stock worth $42,943,000 after buying an additional 167,361 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Performance Food Group in the second quarter worth approximately $7,460,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Performance Food Group by 241.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 481,018 shares of the food distribution company's stock worth $44,018,000 after acquiring an additional 340,227 shares in the last quarter. 96.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Performance Food Group Stock Up 14.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.46. The stock has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.91.

About Performance Food Group

Performance Food Group Co NYSE: PFGC is a food and foodservice distribution company serving restaurants, convenience stores, schools, health care facilities, hospitality businesses and other institutional customers. The company supplies a broad selection of fresh, frozen and dry food products, beverages, disposables, kitchen supplies and related equipment.

Performance Food Group operates through three primary business areas: Foodservice, which distributes products to independent and chain restaurants and institutional customers; Vistar, which supplies candy, snacks, beverages and other products to vending, theater, hospitality and specialty retail customers; and Convenience, which serves convenience stores and other retail locations with food, beverages, tobacco products and related merchandise.

The company traces its origins to 1987 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

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