International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $100.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $75.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on IFF. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an underperform rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $93.18.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $97.23 on Wednesday. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12 month low of $62.11 and a 12 month high of $97.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.43.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.27. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.65%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently -15.94%.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IFF. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 124.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 41,019 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,796,000 after purchasing an additional 22,719 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.8% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,823 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 125.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 170,673 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,635,000 after acquiring an additional 95,118 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 57,816 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.