US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $82.06 and last traded at $81.97, with a volume of 3930873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on USFD. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of US Foods from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of US Foods from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Sunday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of US Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.42.

US Foods Trading Up 1.1%

The stock has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $77.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.01). US Foods had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 1.38%. The company had revenue of $9.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at US Foods

In related news, EVP Dirk J. Locascio sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 115,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,630,775. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in US Foods by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,632,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in US Foods by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in US Foods by 121.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 6,108 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in US Foods by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 16,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in US Foods by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 659,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,458,000 after buying an additional 371,613 shares during the period. 98.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.