US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of US Foods (NYSE:USFD) in a research report released on Tuesday morning. The firm issued an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on USFD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of US Foods from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of US Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. 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 Down 2.6%

US Foods stock opened at $83.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.15. US Foods has a fifty-two week low of $57.36 and a fifty-two week high of $85.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.46.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other US Foods news, insider Steven Guberman sold 58,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 113,410 shares in the company, valued at $8,165,520. This trade represents a 34.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On US Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of US Foods during the second quarter worth about $184,413,000. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of US Foods by 84.4% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,580,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,310 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in US Foods by 14.2% during 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 position in US Foods by 11.0% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 908,993 shares during the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.