Short Interest in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Expands By 7.8%

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, an increase of 7.8% from the November 15th total of 4,000,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $86.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,121,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,298. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.93 and a 200 day moving average of $97.57. 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 has a twelve month low of $72.94 and a twelve month high of $106.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.59, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.17.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.16% and a negative net margin of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IFF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $109.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors 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.