US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) Short Interest Up 36.0% in February

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,400,000 shares, an increase of 36.0% from the February 13th total of 3,970,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

US Foods Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of USFD stock traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $64.91. 407,694 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,251,376. The firm has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.65. US Foods has a 1 year low of $49.65 and a 1 year high of $73.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.11 and a 200 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). US Foods had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 15.03%. The business had revenue of $9.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.47 billion. Analysts expect that US Foods will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of US Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of US Foods from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of US Foods from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of US Foods from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.33.

Insider Transactions at US Foods

In other US Foods news, Director David W. Bullock acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.06 per share, with a total value of $284,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,770. The trade was a 800.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of USFD. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in US Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in US Foods by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in US Foods by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in US Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in US Foods by 332.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.