Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) and Delhaize Group SA (NYSE:DEG) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitabiliy, dividends and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Sysco Corporation and Delhaize Group SA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Sysco Corporation | 1.93% | 47.28% | 7.60% |
| Delhaize Group SA | 1.77% | 7.11% | 3.43% |
Volatility and Risk
Sysco Corporation has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Delhaize Group SA has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
78.6% of Sysco Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.8% of Sysco Corporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Sysco Corporation and Delhaize Group SA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Sysco Corporation | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Delhaize Group SA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Sysco Corporation currently has a consensus target price of $56.42, suggesting a potential upside of 7.97%. Given Sysco Corporation’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sysco Corporation is more favorable than Delhaize Group SA.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Sysco Corporation and Delhaize Group SA’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Sysco Corporation | $54.60 billion | 0.51 | $3.00 billion | $1.90 | 27.50 |
| Delhaize Group SA | N/A | N/A | N/A | $1.19 | 23.62 |
Sysco Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Delhaize Group SA. Delhaize Group SA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sysco Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Sysco Corporation pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Delhaize Group SA pays an annual dividend of $0.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Sysco Corporation pays out 69.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Delhaize Group SA pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Delhaize Group SA has raised its dividend for 46 consecutive years.
Summary
Sysco Corporation beats Delhaize Group SA on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Sysco Corporation
Sysco Corporation (Sysco) is a distributor of food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry. The Company’s segments include Broadline, SYGMA and Other. The Broadline segment includes its Broadline operations located in the Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, Ireland, Mexico and the United States. Broadline operating companies distribute a full line of food products and a range of non-food products to both traditional and chain restaurant customers, hospitals, schools, hotels, industrial caterers and other venues where foodservice products are served. SYGMA operating companies distribute a full line of food products and a range of non-food products to certain chain restaurant customer locations. The Other segment includes the Company’s specialty produce; custom-cut meat operations; lodging industry segments; a company that distributes specialty imported products; a company that distributes to international customers, and Sysco Ventures platform.
About Delhaize Group SA
Delhaize le Lion de Leeuw BV (Belgium Branch), formerly Delhaize Group SA, is a Belgium-based food retailer. The Company operates through three segments: the United States, including Food Lion and Hannaford banners; Belgium, including Delhaize Le Lion and AD Delhaize banners, and Southeastern Europe (SEE), including Alfa Beta, Mega Image and Shop&Go banners. The Company is principally engaged in the operation of food supermarkets through Company-operated, affiliated and franchised stores. Affiliated stores are with its banners that are operated by independent third parties to whom the Company sells its products at wholesale prices. Its store network also includes other store formats, such as proximity, cash and carry, and specialty stores. The Company has stores located in the United States (Northeast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic), Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Indonesia. The Company operates over 3,510 stores.
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