International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $110.08.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IFF. Morgan Stanley raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF opened at $81.36 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $87.77 and a 200 day moving average of $95.91. International Flavors & Fragrances has a fifty-two week low of $72.94 and a fifty-two week high of $106.77. The firm has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.95, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.62.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently -17.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total value of $458,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. The trade was a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 13.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 82,109 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after buying an additional 9,997 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter worth about $675,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 20,549 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after buying an additional 2,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 14.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 40,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,857,000 after acquiring an additional 5,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.