Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius started coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY opened at $71.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.34. Sysco has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Sysco will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at $7,613,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Sysco by 76.0% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 135,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after buying an additional 58,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

About Sysco

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.