Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Shares Down 3.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $71.76 and last traded at $71.75. 713,815 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,604,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Sysco Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sysco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Company Profile

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.