US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $85.22 and last traded at $85.0460, with a volume of 3611146 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USFD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Barclays reduced their price target on US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised US Foods from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

US Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.38. 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 (NYSE:USFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. US Foods had a return on equity of 17.71% and a net margin of 1.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On US Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in USFD. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in US Foods by 0.7% in the second quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in shares of US Foods by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of US Foods by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in US Foods by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Suncoast Equity Management boosted its stake in US Foods by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 11,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.