International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

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

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $101.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.22.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $90.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.17, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.06. International Flavors & Fragrances has a fifty-two week low of $61.29 and a fifty-two week high of $91.88.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 2.78%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 4th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total value of $754,978.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at $444,774.45. The trade was a 62.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 208,502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,406,000 after buying an additional 4,890 shares during the period. Curated Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter worth approximately $258,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,444,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $120,590,000 after purchasing an additional 6,458 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 341,237 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,486,000 after purchasing an additional 20,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients and solutions used in food, beverages, personal care products, fragrances, household products, pharmaceuticals and other consumer goods. The company works with manufacturers to create flavors, fragrances, functional ingredients and sensory experiences for products sold under consumer brands.

IFF’s portfolio includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients, specialty ingredients, food texturants, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and pharmaceutical excipients.