Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $68.69 and last traded at $69.33, with a volume of 241606 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.77.

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Sysco Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.61 and a 200 day moving average of $74.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners grew its position in Sysco by 143.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $930,296,000 after buying an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Sysco by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company's stock worth $687,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,002 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in Sysco in the fourth quarter worth about $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,078,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

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.