Brokerages Set Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Price Target at $85.38

Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.56.

SYY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Sysco by 74.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 74.6% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $75.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $37.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.38. Sysco has a 52 week low of $62.24 and a 52 week high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 99.88%. The company had revenue of $19.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.74 billion. Sysco’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sysco will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Sysco’s payout ratio is 48.78%.

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.