Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.38.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st.

Sysco Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of SYY opened at $77.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.03. Sysco has a fifty-two week low of $62.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $38.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. Sysco’s payout ratio is 48.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In related news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sysco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 204,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 323,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,369,000 after acquiring an additional 3,897 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA grew its stake in Sysco by 23.5% during the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 8,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Sysco by 12.4% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 119,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,875,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toews Corp ADV bought a new position in Sysco in the third quarter valued at about $773,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.