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

StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on SYY. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

Sysco Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of SYY stock opened at $74.68 on Tuesday. Sysco has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.64. The firm has a market cap of $36.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sysco will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,370 shares of company stock valued at $5,965,519 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sysco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Sysco by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 40,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,103,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Sysco by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.