International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Price Target Cut to $78.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has reduced the price target for International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) from $84.00 to $78.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Other firms, including Oppenheimer and Wells Fargo, have also adjusted their ratings and target prices for IFF, reflecting mixed sentiment from analysts.
• Shares of IFF recently traded at $64.04, a significant drop from its twelve-month high of $106.77, indicating ongoing volatility in the stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Barclays from $84.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 22.64% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on IFF. Oppenheimer cut International Flavors & Fragrances from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Performance

IFF traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.60. 2,912,535 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,092,972. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 1-year low of $63.50 and a 1-year high of $106.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.04. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.95% and a negative net margin of 3.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mehmood Khan purchased 4,000 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.33 per share, with a total value of $301,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at $346,819.32. This represents a 662.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Erik Fyrwald purchased 15,300 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $993,735.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 77,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,181.50. This trade represents a 24.65% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 52,100 shares of company stock worth $3,631,607. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,525,000 after acquiring an additional 8,490 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter worth $1,271,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 361,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,529,000 after acquiring an additional 68,970 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the first quarter worth $688,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 126.1% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 29,344 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,277,000 after acquiring an additional 16,368 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B's Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B's Health & Biosciences division.