International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, an increase of 10.5% from the October 31st total of 3,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,086.50. The trade was a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,467,517 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,102,363,000 after acquiring an additional 196,696 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,008,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $628,341,000 after acquiring an additional 77,521 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 4,011,307 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $381,917,000 after acquiring an additional 80,558 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,756,438 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $167,244,000 after acquiring an additional 123,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,498,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $157,271,000 after buying an additional 16,590 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.16. 1,427,687 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,458. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52 week low of $72.94 and a 52 week high of $106.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.12.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders 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 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -17.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on IFF. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer upped 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 note on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.00.

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.