Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Ingredion Incorporated experienced a 25.3% increase in short interest in August, bringing the total to 1,930,000 shares.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, reflecting an annualized rate of $3.28 and a dividend yield of 2.6%.
• Wall Street analysts hold a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $151.40, while the stock is currently trading at approximately $123.81.

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,930,000 shares, a growth of 25.3% from the August 15th total of 1,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 461,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Approximately 3.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 461,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on INGR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ingredion from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ingredion from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $151.40.

Ingredion Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Ingredion stock traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $122.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,308,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 524,187. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.95 and a 200 day moving average of $132.56. Ingredion has a 1-year low of $120.51 and a 1-year high of $155.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.77.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.09. Ingredion had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.87 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Ingredion has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.100-11.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ingredion will post 11.14 EPS for the current year.

Ingredion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Ingredion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Ingredion's payout ratio is 31.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ingredion news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 36,287 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.52, for a total value of $4,591,031.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 50,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,342,321.08. The trade was a 41.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total transaction of $109,131.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,002,044.69. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,137 shares of company stock valued at $4,700,163. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingredion

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of INGR. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Ingredion in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Ingredion in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ingredion during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Ingredion by 810.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 255 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ingredion by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 279 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.