Wall Street Zen Upgrades US Foods (NYSE:USFD) to "Strong-Buy"

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on USFD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on US Foods from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on US Foods from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of US Foods in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on US Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, US Foods currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.92.

US Foods Stock Up 1.3%

USFD traded up $1.03 on Friday, reaching $78.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,844,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,037,996. The stock has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. US Foods has a 1 year low of $50.05 and a 1 year high of $78.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $67.96 and its 200 day moving average is $68.39.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.01). US Foods had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that US Foods will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of US Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of US Foods during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of US Foods by 94.5% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 389 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in US Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of US Foods by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in US Foods during the first quarter worth $31,000. 98.76% of the stock is 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.