International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $77.28 and last traded at $78.00, with a volume of 542947 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IFF. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 2.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.78.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 2.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is 170.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, Director Kevin O’byrne bought 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $80.44 per share, for a total transaction of $522,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,860. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.