Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Melius Research downgraded shares of Sysco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sysco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Sysco from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.42.

Sysco Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $81.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.62. Sysco has a 52-week low of $68.19 and a 52-week high of $91.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.29. The company has a market capitalization of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.64.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.95 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 95.05% and a net margin of 2.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Sysco has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.025-5.117 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.180-1.200 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 60.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Ronald Phillips sold 960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $79,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 49,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,716. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,525 shares of company stock valued at $1,299,736. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,596,356,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Sysco in the second quarter worth about $482,589,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,667,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,871,000 after acquiring an additional 59,685 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the second quarter worth about $313,503,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $273,323,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Sysco

Sysco Corporation is a global foodservice distribution company headquartered in Houston, Texas. It supplies food and related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational institutions, hotels, government facilities, and other foodservice operators.

The company distributes a broad range of products, including fresh and frozen foods, meat and seafood, produce, dairy products, canned and packaged goods, beverages, and specialty food items. Sysco also provides nonfood products such as kitchen and dining supplies, equipment, and cleaning products, along with services intended to help customers manage menus, procurement, and operations.

Founded in 1969, Sysco serves customers primarily across the United States and Canada, as well as in parts of Europe and other international markets.