US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of US Foods (NYSE:USFD) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of US Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Friday, November 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on US Foods from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of USFD stock traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $84.00. 339,262 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,156. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G 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 has a fifty-two week low of $57.36 and a fifty-two week high of $85.85.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. US Foods had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 1.43%.The firm had revenue of $10.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that US Foods will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at US Foods

In related news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $4,221,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 113,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,165,520. This represents a 34.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On US Foods

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in US Foods by 6.0% during 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 holdings 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 worth $986,557,000 after buying an additional 1,599,033 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in US Foods by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,664,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,752,000 after buying an additional 1,155,254 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 valued at $625,530,000 after acquiring an additional 649,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of US Foods by 2.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,134,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,449,000 after acquiring an additional 161,749 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

US Foods Company Profile

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.