Wall Street Zen Downgrades US Foods (NYSE:USFD) to Hold

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also commented on USFD. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on US Foods from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $92.00 price objective on shares of US Foods in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.00.

US Foods Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of USFD stock opened at $90.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. US Foods has a twelve month low of $57.36 and a twelve month high of $90.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.73. The stock has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.02.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 17.71%. US Foods’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that US Foods will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at US Foods

In related news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $4,221,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,410 shares in the company, valued at $8,165,520. This trade represents a 34.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of US Foods

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of US Foods by 6.0% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 16,130,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,585,000 after purchasing an additional 908,993 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in US Foods by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,875,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,557,000 after buying an additional 1,599,033 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of US Foods by 11.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,664,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155,254 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of US Foods by 8.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,164,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,530,000 after acquiring an additional 649,950 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of US Foods by 2.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,134,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,449,000 after acquiring an additional 161,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

About US Foods

US Foods (NYSE: USFD) is a leading foodservice distributor in the United States that supplies a wide range of products and services to professional food operators. The company provides fresh, frozen and dry food items as well as non-food restaurant supplies and kitchen equipment. Its customer base includes independent restaurants, multi-unit chains, healthcare and senior living facilities, hospitality businesses, government and educational institutions, and other foodservice operators.

Beyond commodity and branded food products, US Foods offers value-added solutions designed to help customers run their businesses.