International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $88.66, but opened at $92.60. International Flavors & Fragrances shares last traded at $93.87, with a volume of 468,954 shares.

The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.27. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.09% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -15.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on IFF. StockNews.com upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Argus cut International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.18.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. Winder Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth $1,728,544,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth about $95,612,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,927,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $267,711,000 after buying an additional 996,629 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,812,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 139.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 1,372,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $111,146,000 after acquiring an additional 798,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a PE ratio of -9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.43.

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.