Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ingredion's rating from "hold" to "buy," reflecting a positive sentiment from analysts regarding the company’s prospects.
• Despite the upgrade, UBS Group lowered its price target for Ingredion shares from $144.00 to $130.00, indicating a "neutral" stance on the stock.
• Ingredion's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.87 EPS, although revenue fell short of estimates at $1.83 billion.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $144.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ingredion in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.20.

Ingredion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE INGR opened at $121.46 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $124.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.82. 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 cap of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.74. Ingredion has a 52-week low of $118.56 and a 52-week high of $155.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ingredion news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total transaction of $109,131.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 31,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,002,044.69. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James P. Zallie sold 36,287 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.52, for a total transaction of $4,591,031.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 50,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,342,321.08. The trade was a 41.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,137 shares of company stock worth $4,700,163. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingredion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INGR. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 40.2% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 279 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 5.7% during the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Management raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 10,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 5.8% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 4.2% during the second quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

About Ingredion

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.

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