The world of investments is constantly changing and evolving, and savvy investors are always on the lookout for the hottest prospects. If you’re interested in the food industry, US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) might be a company worth considering.
According to their website, US Foods Holding Corp. operates as a foodservice distributor and offers a range of food and non-food products throughout the United States under various brand names such as Chef’s Line, del Pasado, and Cross Valley Farms. With such a broad range of offerings, it’s unsurprising that the company has attracted attention from investors.
One such investor is Raymond James & Associates. This firm recently disclosed that it had increased its stake in US Foods by 16.7% during Q4 2020, now owning just over 1 million shares worth around $34 million. While this may represent a relatively small portion of US Foods’ overall value, it nonetheless highlights the potential for growth that many investors see in this company.
Several analysts have also shared their thoughts on US Foods’ prospects. StockNews.com downgraded shares of US Foods from “strong-buy” to “buy”, while BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $45 to $50. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley all gave positive ratings to the stock by issuing buy recommendations or increasing price targets.
Despite some mixed views among analysts, Bloomberg reports an average rating of “moderate buy” for the stock with an average target price of $44.60 per share – suggesting that there are still plenty of believers who see significant growth potential in US Foods.
Of course, investing in any company carries inherent risks as markets can be unpredictable and vulnerable to external factors outside of anyone’s control- especially considering our current global economic climate due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Ultimately, only you can decide if investing in US Foods Holding Corp. is the right decision for you, but with the backing of respected analysts and investors like Raymond James & Associates, there might just be an opportunity worth exploring in this food industry stalwart.
Insider Trading and Investor Changes at US Foods Holding Corp.
US Foods Holding Corp.: A Quick Look at Recent Investor Changes and Insider Trading
US Foods Holding Corp. is a foodservice distributor that offers frozen and dry food as well as non-food products to US-based customers. The company runs under several brands such as del Pasado, Chef’s Line, Hilltop Hearth, Cattleman’s Selection, and others.
In the last quarter, insiders of USFD have sold 7,633,850 shares worth $296,320,022; while 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors. Some large institutional investors recently made changes to their positions in USFD: in Q4 2016 Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in the company by 63.7%, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake by 0.7% in Q3 2016; Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted theirs by 2.6% in Q1 2017; Private Advisor Group LLC lifted theirs by 1.9% also in Q4 2016; finally Captrust Financial Advisors increased their stake by 29.9% in Q1 this year.
Turning our attention to insider trading activities over the past two months: director Sunil Gupta sold a total of 5,756 shares on February 22nd and currently owns over $699k worth of the company’s stock; EVP Andrew E. Iacobucci sold 21,954 shares worth $761k on March 24th and currently holds more than $3m worth of USFD’s stocks.
Yesterday (April XX), the stock opened at $39.62 with a market cap of $8.89 billion; the P/E ratio was sitting at around forty times earnings and beta was calculated at approximately one point four seven—with a fifty-two-week high of $41.28 and low of $25.49 respectively-and moving averages at $37.09 for the past fifty days, whilst the 200-day moving average currently stands at $35.93.
The company reported their earnings results on February 16th and managed to deliver an earnings per share of $0.51, meeting consensus estimates; with a net margin of 0.78% and return on equity reaching 13.22%; total revenue for Q4 2016 was at $8.52 billion compared to the expected $8.58 billion.
Analysts are projecting US Foods Holding Corp.’s earnings per share to reach 2.42 by the end of this fiscal year.
