Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.51

Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share on Friday, July 26th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Sysco has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 55 consecutive years. Sysco has a dividend payout ratio of 42.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sysco to earn $4.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.7%.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of Sysco stock remained flat at $77.07 during midday trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 2,072,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,339,761. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00. The firm has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.78. Sysco has a 52 week low of $62.24 and a 52 week high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Sysco’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sysco will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.38.

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.