International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Price Target Cut to $100.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered its price target for International Flavors & Fragrances from $101 to $100 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying approximately 18.9% upside from the reported $84.12 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall, with 12 buy ratings and seven hold ratings producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $92.69.
• IFF reported quarterly earnings and revenue below analyst expectations, but its board authorized a $2.5 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 12.1% of outstanding shares.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Citigroup from $101.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Citigroup's price target indicates a potential upside of 18.88% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $93.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.69.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFF traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $84.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,172,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,805,083. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.24. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52-week low of $59.14 and a 52-week high of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.20, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.91.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.25). International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total transaction of $754,978.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at $444,774.45. This represents a 62.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total transaction of $475,680.42. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IFF. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,835,955,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth $223,065,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,809,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $131,222,000 after purchasing an additional 147,896 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at about $131,760,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,598,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $115,981,000 after purchasing an additional 10,654 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 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.

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