Short Interest in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) Expands By 36.0%

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,400,000 shares, a growth of 36.0% from the February 13th total of 3,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on USFD. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of US Foods from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of US Foods from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on US Foods from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on US Foods from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Melius Research upgraded US Foods to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, US Foods has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.33.

US Foods Price Performance

US Foods stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.04. 2,161,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,847,434. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. US Foods has a twelve month low of $49.65 and a twelve month high of $73.19. The company has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.08.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). US Foods had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $9.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.47 billion. Equities analysts expect that US Foods will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other US Foods news, Director David W. Bullock bought 4,000 shares of US Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.06 per share, for a total transaction of $284,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $319,770. The trade was a 800.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On US Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of USFD. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of US Foods by 183.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18,057 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in US Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $445,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of US Foods in the fourth quarter worth $232,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of US Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $464,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in US Foods by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 795,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,647,000 after purchasing an additional 77,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

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.