Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.79.

Sysco Stock Down 5.9 %

SYY stock opened at $72.35 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.03. Sysco has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sysco

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SYY. National Pension Service lifted its position in Sysco by 15.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,562,000 after purchasing an additional 166,798 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after acquiring an additional 14,810 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 17,587 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Sysco by 11.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Sysco by 7.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

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.