Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Stock

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $82.00 to $85.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.31% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of US Foods from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Melius Research upgraded US Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius began coverage on US Foods in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of US Foods from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of US Foods from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.17.

US Foods Stock Up 0.2 %

US Foods stock opened at $71.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.11. US Foods has a 1-year low of $45.24 and a 1-year high of $73.00. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $9.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.47 billion. US Foods had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 1.54%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that US Foods will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of US Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of US Foods by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment boosted its stake in US Foods by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 263,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,776,000 after buying an additional 23,000 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of US Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $175,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of US Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $754,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of US Foods by 530.8% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 463,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,300,000 after purchasing an additional 390,422 shares during the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

US Foods Company Profile

US Foods Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in marketing, sale, and distribution of fresh, frozen, and dry food and non-food products to foodservice customers in the United States. The company's customers include independently owned single and multi-unit restaurants, regional concepts, national restaurant chains, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and motels, country clubs, government and military organizations, colleges and universities, and retail locations.