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

Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.38.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sysco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 1,240.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Performance

Sysco stock opened at $71.38 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.99. The company has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

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.