US Foods Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:USFD)

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,500 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,057% compared to the average daily volume of 216 put options.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USFD opened at $87.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.05 and a 200 day moving average of $77.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.02. US Foods has a 52 week low of $57.36 and a 52 week high of $89.50.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $10.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. US Foods had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 1.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that US Foods will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on US Foods from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of US Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, US Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other US Foods news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 113,410 shares in the company, valued at $8,165,520. The trade was a 34.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in US Foods by 303.7% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of US Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of US Foods in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in US Foods by 120.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 482 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in US Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 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.