US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• US Foods Holding Corp. experienced a significant increase in short interest, with 7,450,000 shares shorted as of August 31st, marking a 20.7% growth from mid-August.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed earnings per share of $1.19 for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.05, along with a revenue of $10.08 billion.
• Several brokerages have raised their target price for US Foods, with Guggenheim and Wells Fargo recently increasing their price targets to $88.00 and $87.00 respectively, reflecting positive analyst sentiment towards the stock.

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,450,000 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the August 15th total of 6,170,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

US Foods Price Performance

Shares of USFD stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $77.22. The company had a trading volume of 746,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,649. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.92. US Foods has a 52-week low of $57.36 and a 52-week high of $85.11. The company has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of US Foods from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of US Foods from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $87.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of US Foods in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, US Foods currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dirk J. Locascio sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 115,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,206,160. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners grew its position in US Foods by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 16,457,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,076,225,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713,345 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in US Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $184,413,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of US Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $110,245,000. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of US Foods by 84.4% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,580,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,310 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of US Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $91,087,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.76% of the company's stock.

About US Foods

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.