SYSCO Reports 2Q EPS Miss, Citigroup Maintains Rating And PT

Citigroup has published a research report on SYSCO Corporation SYY after the company reported 2Q11 EPS below analyst estimates. In the report, Citigroup writes "SYY reported F2Q11 EPS of 44c vs. the FC est. of 47c, on rev of $9.4B vs. the FC est. of $9.47B. In addition, COLI had a favorable +2c benefit vs. +2c benefit last qtr. We attribute the shortfall largely to continued pressure around gross margins, likely owing to a still fairly tight competitive environment, high levels of inflation in certain categories and unfavorable mix. In addition, higher pension and fuel costs led to modestly higher than expected opex in the qtr vs. our modeling." Citigroup maintains its Medium Risk rating and $30 price target. SYSCO closed Friday at $29.85.