International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,710,000 shares, a decline of 5.6% from the August 15th total of 2,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,310,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $103.46 on Thursday. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 1-year low of $62.28 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of -10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.28.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.82% and a positive return on equity of 6.63%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on IFF shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $103.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 183.2% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.