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

Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Sysco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $73.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. Sysco has a 12 month low of $67.12 and a 12 month high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sysco will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 55.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sysco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 188.7% in the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.