International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.4563.

A number of brokerages recently commented on IFF. Berenberg Bank decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $78.80 to $78.30 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 4th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

IFF opened at $72.19 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.86. The company has a market capitalization of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 1 year low of $59.14 and a 1 year high of $88.09.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.65 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 3.72% and a positive return on equity of 8.03%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 19th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 19th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -98.77%.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IFF. American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11,975.0% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 896.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 587 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 200.0% during the second quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 43.9% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 633 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.