Ground Swell Capital LLC Makes New Investment in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD)

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of US Foods in the fourth quarter worth $211,300,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of US Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $171,107,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of US Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,611,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of US Foods by 133.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,151,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,708,000 after acquiring an additional 659,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of US Foods by 307.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 639,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,145,000 after acquiring an additional 482,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.76% of the company’s stock.

US Foods Stock Performance

USFD opened at $71.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.05. US Foods Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $50.05 and a 1-year high of $73.19. 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 (NYSE:USFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $9.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.42 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 15.03%. US Foods’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts expect that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at US Foods

In related news, Director David W. Bullock acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $319,770. The trade was a 800.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USFD has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of US Foods from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded US Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, US Foods presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.08.

About US Foods

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.