When Should You Buy Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)?

Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY). The company's stock saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of US$81.94 and falling to the lows of US$71.47. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Sysco's current trading price of US$72.66 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Sysco’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

See our latest analysis for Sysco

What's The Opportunity In Sysco?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. We’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 17.42x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 21.64x, which means if you buy Sysco today, you’d be paying a decent price for it. And if you believe that Sysco should be trading at this level in the long run, then there’s not much of an upside to gain over and above other industry peers. Although, there may be an opportunity to buy in the future. This is because Sysco’s beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company’s shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.

Can we expect growth from Sysco?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Sysco's earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 23%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in SYY’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at SYY? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on SYY, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for SYY, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

So while earnings quality is important, it's equally important to consider the risks facing Sysco at this point in time. While conducting our analysis, we found that Sysco has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

If you are no longer interested in Sysco, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.