Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SYY. Melius Research lowered shares of Sysco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Sysco from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sysco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sysco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Sysco Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of SYY stock opened at $81.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.59. Sysco has a twelve month low of $68.19 and a twelve month high of $91.85. The company has a market capitalization of $39.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $22.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.95 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 95.05%. Sysco’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm 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. Equities analysts forecast that Sysco will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given 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 payout ratio is presently 60.11%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Ronald L. Phillips sold 506 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 36,313 shares in the company, valued at $3,053,560.17. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 quarter, insiders sold 14,508 shares of company stock worth $1,215,250. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sysco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SYY. Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,278,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $542,780,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 301.9% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 12,641 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $52,672,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Sysco by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,611,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,715,000 after purchasing an additional 15,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

About Sysco

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.