Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) Short Interest Up 28.6% in May

Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, an increase of 28.6% from the April 30th total of 801,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 228,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Sensient Technologies in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

In other news, major shareholder Winder Investment Pte Ltd purchased 17,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $81.83 per share, with a total value of $1,426,215.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 615,017 shares of company stock valued at $51,562,479. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SXT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,547,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 369.4% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,604,000 after purchasing an additional 250,966 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,131,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 16,513.9% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 172,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,691,000 after purchasing an additional 171,414 shares during the period. Finally, Winder Investment Pte Ltd increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Winder Investment Pte Ltd now owns 5,219,035 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $438,138,000 after purchasing an additional 160,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.16% of the company’s stock.

Shares of NYSE SXT traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.44. The company had a trading volume of 332,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,459. Sensient Technologies has a one year low of $74.43 and a one year high of $106.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.86.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $355.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Sensient Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 6th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.78%.

About Sensient Technologies (Get Rating)

Sensient Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Flavors & Extracts Group, Color Group, and Asia Pacific Group.

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