US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other research firms have also commented on USFD. Barclays reduced their price target 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 restated an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

US Foods Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of USFD stock opened at $83.46 on Monday. US Foods has a fifty-two week low of $57.36 and a fifty-two week high of $85.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. US Foods had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The firm had revenue of $10.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that US Foods will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were 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 owned 113,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,165,520. This represents a 34.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in US Foods by 303.7% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in US Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of US Foods by 120.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 482 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of US Foods in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of US Foods by 155.6% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.