US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Trading Down 5.2% on Disappointing Earnings

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD)’s share price was down 5.2% during trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $66.56 and last traded at $66.26. Approximately 1,271,651 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 1,740,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.91.

The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). US Foods had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 14.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USFD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of US Foods from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on US Foods from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Melius Research upgraded US Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of US Foods from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, US Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On US Foods

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of US Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $211,300,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in US Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,107,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in US Foods by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 2,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in US Foods by 25.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,106,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,548,000 after buying an additional 2,435,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of US Foods in the third quarter worth $121,196,000. 98.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

US Foods Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.87.

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.