International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,950,000 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the March 15th total of 6,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:IFF traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.96. 1,656,521 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,084,483. International Flavors & Fragrances has a fifty-two week low of $62.11 and a fifty-two week high of $97.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.26, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.15.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 5.09% and a negative net margin of 22.36%. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IFF. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.7% in the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 10.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 31.5% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Barclays upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.35.

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.