Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Sysco “Moderate Buy”: Nine analysts recommend buying the stock, six rate it a hold and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $89.50.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Sysco reported earnings of $1.53 per share versus the $1.51 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $22.12 billion.
• Dividend remains a key shareholder return: Sysco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, equivalent to $2.20 annually and a 2.7% yield, with a payout ratio of 60.11%.

Shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.50.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Melius Research lowered shares of Sysco from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $82.35 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $82.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.58. The stock has a market cap of $39.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.62, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.28. Sysco has a one year low of $68.19 and a one year high of $91.85.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Sysco had a return on equity of 95.05% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company had revenue of $22.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sysco has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.025-5.117 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.180-1.200 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sysco will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ronald L. Phillips sold 506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.09, for a total transaction of $42,549.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,313 shares in the company, valued at $3,053,560.17. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 14,508 shares of company stock worth $1,215,250 in the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Sysco by 10,045.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,555,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,311,940,000 after buying an additional 62,928,735 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,596,356,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,669,576 shares of the company's stock worth $2,195,973,000 after acquiring an additional 246,542 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,728,692 shares of the company's stock worth $934,391,000 after acquiring an additional 131,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $542,780,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Company Profile

Sysco Corporation NYSE: SYY is a global foodservice distribution company that supplies a broad range of food and related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Its core business is the procurement, warehousing and delivery of fresh, frozen and dry food products, complemented by non-food items such as paper goods, kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies and tabletop products. Sysco serves customers through an extensive network of distribution centers and dedicated delivery fleets, positioning itself as a one-stop supplier for operators of all sizes.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Sysco has grown through both organic expansion and acquisitions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source