International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Upgraded by Argus to “Buy” Rating

Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Vertical Research raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF opened at $82.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.07, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $88.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.22. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52 week low of $72.94 and a 52 week high of $106.77.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.60%.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,086.50. The trade was a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IFF. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,489,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $464,926,000 after buying an additional 1,121,414 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 10,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,041 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 470,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,388,000 after purchasing an additional 9,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,809 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

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.