Us Foods Holding: Truist Securities Analyst Raises Price Target After Strong Q1 Earnings

Truist Securities's Jake Bartlett raised their price target on Us Foods Holding (NYSE: USFD) by 14% from $57 to $65 on 2024/05/10. The analyst maintained their Strong Buy rating on the stock.

Bartlett attributed their price target move to the EBITDA beat in Us Foods Holding's Q1 2024 earnings report, which was released on May 9, 2024. The company reported impressive financial results for the first quarter, surpassing both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates.

For Q1 2024, Us Foods Holding reported EPS of $0.54, beating the Thomson Reuters Consensus Estimate of $0.53, and showing an 8% increase compared to Q1 2023's EPS of $0.50. The company also reported revenue of $8.95 billion, beating the Thomson Reuters Consensus Estimate of $8.91 billion and marking a 4.8% increase from Q1 2023's revenue of $8.54 billion. Additionally, adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $356 million, representing a 5.6% year-over-year increase.

Looking ahead, Bartlett predicted that Us Foods Holding's management should be able to offset macro pressures with improved service levels, digital initiatives, solid Healthcare channel growth, and new customer wins in Hospitality.

The company's management also provided guidance for the full fiscal year 2024, which remained unchanged. They expect EPS to be in the range of $3.00 to $3.20, revenue between $37.5 billion and $38.5 billion, and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.69 billion to $1.74 billion.

CEO Dave Flitman expressed satisfaction with the Q1 results, highlighting the strength of Us Foods Holding's business model and the company's ability to overcome internal and external challenges. Flitman also mentioned their success in winning share with independent restaurants for twelve consecutive quarters and their commitment to operational improvements and long-term shareholder value creation. The CEO also teased an upcoming Investor Day on June 5, 2024, where the company will unveil a new long-range plan.

In addition to Jake Bartlett's rating update, other analysts also provided their insights on Us Foods Holding on May 10, 2024. Barclays analyst Jeffrey A. Bernstein raised their price target by 6.7% from $60 to $64 while maintaining a Strong Buy rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Harbour increased their price target by 3.2% from $62 to $64 and also maintained a Strong Buy rating. BMO Capital analyst Kelly Bania raised their price target by 6.9% from $58 to $62 and reiterated a Buy rating on the stock.

According to WallStreetZen, 83.3% of top-rated analysts currently rate USFD as a Strong Buy or Buy, while 16.7% consider it a Hold. There are no analysts recommending or strongly recommending selling the stock.

The consensus forecast among analysts is that Us Foods Holding will deliver earnings per share (EPS) of $2.68 for the upcoming year. If the analysts' predictions hold true, this would represent a 29.7% increase in EPS on a year-over-year basis.

Since the release of Us Foods Holding's latest quarterly report on May 9, 2024, the stock price has remained unchanged. However, on a year-over-year basis, the stock has seen significant growth, with a 45.3% increase. During this period, Us Foods Holding has outperformed the S&P 500, which has grown by 26.2%.

Jake Bartlett, the Truist Securities analyst who raised the price target and maintained a Strong Buy rating on Us Foods Holding, is ranked in the top 1% of Wall Street analysts by WallStreetZen. Bartlett specializes in the Consumer Defensive, Consumer Cyclical, and Communication Services sectors and has an impressive average return of 24.1% and a win rate of 58.9%.

Us Foods Holding Corporation, operating through its subsidiary Us Foods Incorporated, is a distributor of fresh, frozen, and dry food and non-food products to foodservice companies throughout the United States. The company serves a diverse range of customers, including restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and motels, country clubs, government and military organizations, colleges and universities, and retail locations. As of January 1, 2022, Us Foods Holding operated 69 distribution facilities and 80 cash and carry locations. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.

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