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 published on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SYY. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Sysco Stock Down 0.6 %

Sysco stock opened at $74.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. Sysco has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.52 and a 200-day moving average of $75.62.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sysco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.