Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.77.

Several brokerages recently commented on SYY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY opened at $80.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.19. Sysco has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.12 and a 200 day moving average of $74.99.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sysco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,562,000 after purchasing an additional 166,798 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 3,159.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,855 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after buying an additional 17,587 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Company Profile

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments.