Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SYY. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.93.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $73.71 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.76. Sysco has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Code Waechter LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Exeter Financial LLC raised its stake in Sysco by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 17,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $6,140,000. Finally, Persium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $503,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

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.