International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded IFF from “Sell” to “Hold,” while analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $91.40.
• IFF shares opened at $83.04, near the upper end of their 52-week range, but the company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations: EPS was $0.82 versus $1.07 expected, and revenue was $1.95 billion versus $2.62 billion forecast.
• The board authorized a $2.5 billion share-buyback program, covering up to 12.1% of outstanding shares; meanwhile, insiders sold 15,543 shares worth approximately $1.32 million over the prior quarter.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

IFF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. KeyCorp assumed coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.40.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

Shares of IFF stock opened at $83.04 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52 week low of $59.14 and a 52 week high of $89.32. The company has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.18, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.25. 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 (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The firm's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $292,910. The trade was a 22.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IFF. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 132,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $10,523,000 after buying an additional 13,605 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter valued at about $234,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 20.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,551,000 after buying an additional 3,295 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 78.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 12,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 5,334 shares during the period. 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, flavor systems, fragrances and related solutions used in consumer and industrial products. Its offerings help customers create or enhance the taste, aroma, texture, appearance and performance of products across the food, beverage, personal care, home care, health and pharmaceutical markets.

IFF's business includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients and compositions, cosmetic and personal-care ingredients, specialty food ingredients, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and other bioscience-based solutions.

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