International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.23.

Several research firms recently issued reports on IFF. UBS Group boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $111.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

NYSE:IFF opened at $84.87 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The company has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.18. International Flavors & Fragrances has a one year low of $72.94 and a one year high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is currently -17.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IFF. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.