International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

IFF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Vertical Research downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. KeyCorp assumed coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.40.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF opened at $83.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.45 and a 200 day moving average of $77.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.94. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12 month low of $59.14 and a 12 month high of $89.32.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 2.78%.The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 4th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total value of $754,978.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at $444,774.45. This trade represents a 62.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,543 shares of company stock valued at $1,315,659 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,835,955,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,771,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $454,607,000 after buying an additional 172,781 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the fourth quarter valued at about $211,703,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the second quarter valued at about $223,065,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,809,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $131,222,000 after buying an additional 147,896 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients, flavor systems, fragrances and related solutions used in consumer and industrial products. Its offerings help customers create or enhance the taste, aroma, texture, appearance and performance of products across the food, beverage, personal care, home care, health and pharmaceutical markets.

IFF’s business includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients and compositions, cosmetic and personal-care ingredients, specialty food ingredients, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and other bioscience-based solutions.