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

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) was upgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

Sysco Trading Down 0.6%

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

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sysco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SYY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,519,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,703,775,000 after purchasing an additional 429,711 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Sysco by 1.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,070,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,970,000 after buying an additional 162,961 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 24.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,199,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,798,000 after buying an additional 3,015,714 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,868,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,120,000 after buying an additional 233,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,002 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.