Short Interest in Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) Rises By 18.2%

Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 620,100 shares, a growth of 18.2% from the November 30th total of 524,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 146,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael C. Geraghty sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $321,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,938,968.64. The trade was a 9.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $129,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Sensient Technologies by 2,753.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Sensient Technologies Stock Down 1.1 %

SXT stock opened at $72.18 on Monday. Sensient Technologies has a 12 month low of $55.02 and a 12 month high of $82.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.37.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $392.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Sensient Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 78.47%.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and Africa. The company offers flavor-delivery systems, and compounded and blended products; ingredient products, such as essential oils, natural and synthetic flavors, and natural extracts; and chili powder, paprika, and chili pepper, as well as dehydrated vegetables comprising parsley, celery, and spinach to the food, beverage, and personal care industries.