International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Coverage Initiated at Benchmark

Stock analysts at Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 32.50% from the company’s previous close.

IFF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.05.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 4.0%

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.47. The stock had a trading volume of 126,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,821,714. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.94. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12 month low of $59.14 and a 12 month high of $84.45.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 260,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.28 per share, for a total transaction of $19,312,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,682,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,273,184.40. This represents a 10.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 415,500 shares of company stock valued at $30,276,875. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 97.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 587 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 884.1% during the 2nd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF’s research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.