Argus Upgrades International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) to Buy

Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on IFF. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.21.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IFF opened at $82.44 on Tuesday. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12-month low of $72.94 and a 12-month high of $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a PE ratio of -9.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.22.

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is -17.60%.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pictet North America Advisors SA grew its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.1% in the third quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 3,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.0% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orca Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 21,266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.