Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.00.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

Sensient Technologies stock opened at $90.66 on Tuesday. Sensient Technologies has a 52-week low of $67.79 and a 52-week high of $121.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.19.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.06). Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company had revenue of $393.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Sensient Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sensient Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Essie Whitelaw sold 3,985 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.02, for a total transaction of $378,654.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,627,502.56. This trade represents a 18.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sensient Technologies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eminence Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the second quarter valued at $99,117,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $91,280,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 4,511.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 589,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,055,000 after buying an additional 576,493 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $49,867,000. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,784,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.