Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $76.86, but opened at $73.80. Sysco shares last traded at $73.74, with a volume of 609,682 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.79.

Sysco Trading Down 6.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.03. The firm has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SYY. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 762,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,313,000 after purchasing an additional 85,402 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 6,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 62,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,728,000 after purchasing an additional 6,738 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 3,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.