Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.17.

Ingredion Price Performance

Shares of INGR stock traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $123.80. 312,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 390,707. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.87. Ingredion has a 1-year low of $89.54 and a 1-year high of $124.00.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.08. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 8.45%. Ingredion’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ingredion will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ingredion news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.11, for a total transaction of $282,171.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,085.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO James D. Gray sold 8,490 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.74, for a total value of $1,033,572.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,214,489.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.11, for a total value of $282,171.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,436,085.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,359 shares of company stock worth $4,515,644 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ingredion

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Ingredion during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.