Analysts have been eager to weigh in on the Services sector with new ratings on Lowe’s (LOW) and US Food Holdings Corp (USFD).
Lowe’s (LOW)
Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem maintained a Buy rating on Lowe’s today and set a price target of $125. The company’s shares opened today at $96.65.
Fadem observed:
“We expect to get a clearer roadmap for LOW future plans at its December 12 th Investor Day, where we anticipate new CFO David Denton (who has yet to start) to further discuss the cost opportunities from real estate (as well as store and supply chain operations) and initiate new multi-year targets. We continue to view LOW in the early innings of a multi-year turnaround, and while expectations of NT improvement are low, we see considerable opportunities from Pro initiatives, inventory rationalization, and store/processes improvements. Reiterate Outperform.”
According to TipRanks.com, Fadem is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 9.1% and a 64.3% success rate. Fadem covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as National Vision Holdings Inc, Floor & Decor Holdings Inc, and Advance Auto Parts.
Lowe’s has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $122.05, representing a 26.3% upside. In a report issued on October 23, Citigroup also upgraded the stock to Buy with a $112 price target.
.
See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>
US Food Holdings Corp (USFD)
Pivotal Research analyst Ajay Jain reiterated a Hold rating on US Food Holdings Corp today and set a price target of $33. The company’s shares opened today at $28.29.
Jain commented:
“We also believe organic case growth for independents could decelerate slightly from 1H18 to a range of 2-3%. We are a bit cautious due to what appears to be an increasingly competitive backdrop for independent restaurant customers. The results at Sysco and PFGC this week should offer some confirmation along these lines. Our 3Q adj. EPS est. of $0.51 is unchanged and assumes: i) +1.0% revenue growth (+1.8% consensus); ii) gross margin of 17.6% (17.5% consensus); iii) tax rate of 25.5%; iv) 5.3% growth in adj. EBITDA. The FY18 guidance assumes 5-9% growth in EBITDA in 2H18 (a material improvement from 4-5% growth YTD). Guidance assumes flat case volumes for the year (which would require significant acceleration off of -1.6% YTD). The main focus in the 3Q18 results will be on independent case volume.”
According to TipRanks.com, Jain is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 10.7% and a 56.8% success rate. Jain covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Walgreens Boots Alliance, Performance Food Group, and United Natural Foods.
The word on The Street in general, suggests a Hold analyst consensus rating for US Food Holdings Corp with a $32 average price target, representing a 13.1% upside. In a report issued on October 22, Buckingham also initiated coverage with a Hold rating on the stock with a $32 price target.
.
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
