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

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

SYY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.77.

Sysco Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $80.82 on Tuesday. Sysco has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.99. The firm has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.19.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco during the third quarter worth $37,000. 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.