Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Upgraded to “Hold” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

SYY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.00.

Sysco Trading Down 0.6%

SYY opened at $71.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. Sysco has a 52-week low of $67.12 and a 52-week high of $82.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.65 and its 200-day moving average is $73.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 55.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners grew its position in Sysco by 143.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Sysco by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $687,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,002 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,928,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP grew its position in Sysco by 29,610.4% during the 1st quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,431,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,332 shares in the last quarter. 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.