Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) Hits New 12-Month High on Strong Earnings

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $152.37 and last traded at $150.55, with a volume of 150647 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $134.04.

The company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.47%. Ingredion’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS.

Ingredion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a boost from Ingredion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on INGR. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Ingredion from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ingredion from $147.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ingredion from $128.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ingredion currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.58, for a total value of $49,558.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,159 shares in the company, valued at $6,967,399.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ingredion news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.58, for a total value of $49,558.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,967,399.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James P. Zallie sold 1,300 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total transaction of $174,239.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,040,595.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,356 shares of company stock valued at $3,400,709. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ingredion

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 154.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 77,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,101,000 after acquiring an additional 47,225 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 23.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,305,000 after purchasing an additional 21,619 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion during the first quarter worth about $1,812,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in Ingredion by 2,629.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 3,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 3,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp grew its stake in shares of Ingredion by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 952,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,254,000 after acquiring an additional 27,062 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ingredion Stock Down 2.8 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $135.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.73.

About Ingredion

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.