Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) issued its earnings results on Friday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.06), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $393.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Sensient Technologies updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.600-3.800 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Sensient Technologies’ conference call:

• Strong 2025 financial performance — the company reported 3% local-currency revenue growth, 10% local-currency adjusted EBITDA growth, 15% local-currency adjusted EPS growth, and a 100-basis-point improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin.
• Natural color conversion is described as the company’s “single largest opportunity” with a $1.0B sales target; management says the Color Group should deliver high-single- to double-digit revenue growth in 2026 with conversions ramping materially in Q3–Q4.
• Management will invest heavily to capture conversions — guiding $150–170M capex in 2026 and $225–250M total 2025–2028 for natural color conversion — which will raise debt and interest (~$36M guided for 2026), pressure first-half profit leverage, and preclude share buybacks.
• Near-term operational headwinds remain — tariff-related supply-chain disruptions in Asia Pacific and severe California weather led to a ~$3M one-time agricultural inventory loss, causing a flat start to 2026 for Flavors & Extracts and Asia with recovery weighted to the back half of the year.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:SXT traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.73. 878,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,593. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 0.58. Sensient Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $67.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 4.59.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Sensient Technologies to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Essie Whitelaw sold 3,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.02, for a total transaction of $378,654.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,128 shares in the company, valued at $1,627,502.56. This trade represents a 18.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensient Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SXT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Sensient Technologies by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 16.7% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Sensient Technologies by 0.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,321,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sensient Technologies

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.