Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SYY. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sysco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sysco from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Melius Research cut Sysco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sysco from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sysco in a report on Monday, October 26th. Eleven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.13.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE:SYY traded up $1.61 on Wednesday, hitting $76.85. The company had a trading volume of 6,888,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,805,662. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.66. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.50. Sysco has a 52 week low of $68.19 and a 52 week high of $91.85.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Sysco had a return on equity of 95.05% and a net margin of 2.08%. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Sysco’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sysco will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Ronald L. Phillips sold 7,350 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.61, for a total transaction of $614,533.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,231,526.50. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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. Also, Director Thomas Gerard Ondrof purchased 2,500 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.62 per share, for a total transaction of $191,550.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,550. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,525 shares of company stock valued at $1,299,736. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its position in Sysco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 6,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 1.3% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Sysco by 7.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 2.1% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sysco News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Sysco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Thomas Gerard Ondrof purchased 2,500 shares at an average price of $76.62, a modest sign of insider confidence. Director stock purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its price target from $87 to $84 and maintained a Hold/neutral rating. The target still implies potential upside from the cited share price, but the reduction reflects more restrained expectations. Citi rating
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan also lowered its expectations for SYY, adding to a cautious analyst tone. JPMorgan expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Sysco’s latest quarterly revenue of $21.74 billion fell short of analyst estimates, although earnings per share matched expectations at $1.19 and revenue grew 2.8% year over year. Recent trading and results context
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed $29.1 billion Jetro Restaurant Depot acquisition is still awaiting FTC clearance; regulatory and cost exposure has drawn investor scrutiny and could add uncertainty. Acquisition investigation notice

About Sysco

Sysco Corporation is a food distribution company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1969, it supplies food and related products to customers in the foodservice and hospitality industries.

The company distributes fresh and frozen foods, meat, seafood, produce, dairy products, and pantry staples, as well as kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies, and other nonfood items. Its customers include restaurants, health care and educational facilities, lodging businesses, and other organizations that prepare and serve meals.

Sysco serves customers across the United States and in international markets, including Canada and parts of Europe.