Ingredion Incorporated $INGR Stock: Equity Investment Corp Grows Holdings

Equity Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,085,601 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 214,536 shares during the quarter. Ingredion accounts for 1.4% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Equity Investment Corp owned 1.72% of Ingredion worth $104,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Ingredion in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Ingredion in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ingredion in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ingredion Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE INGR opened at $92.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.63. Ingredion Incorporated has a 52-week low of $90.14 and a 52-week high of $123.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $97.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.04.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by ($0.31). Ingredion had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 14.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ingredion Incorporated will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Ingredion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. This is a positive change from Ingredion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ingredion from $108.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ingredion from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ingredion from $118.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ingredion from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Ingredion from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated is a global ingredient solutions company that transforms corn, tapioca, potato and other plant-based materials into ingredients used by manufacturers. Its products include starches, sweeteners, glucose syrups, dextrose, maltodextrins, plant proteins and texturizers. The company’s ingredients are used in food and beverages, as well as in applications such as animal nutrition, brewing, pharmaceuticals, paper and packaging. Ingredion works with customers to develop ingredients and formulations that support product texture, taste, nutrition and performance.