International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on IFF, with 13 buy, six hold and one sell rating. The average 12-month price target is approximately $92.16.
• IFF reported quarterly EPS of $0.82, below the $1.07 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.95 billion also missed the $2.62 billion forecast. Shares opened at $85.03, near their 52-week high of $89.32.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing a 1.9% yield, and authorized a $2.5 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 12.1% of outstanding shares.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.1556.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IFF shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

International Flavors & Fragrances stock opened at $85.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.01, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.93. International Flavors & Fragrances has a one year low of $59.14 and a one year high of $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.60.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. International Flavors & Fragrances's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 12.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total value of $754,978.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $444,774.45. The trade was a 62.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 260,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.28 per share, for a total transaction of $19,312,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,682,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,273,184.40. The trade was a 10.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 53.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,695,343 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $114,249,000 after purchasing an additional 590,997 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,831,668 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $595,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,598 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 148,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,999,000 after purchasing an additional 80,014 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 27,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 21,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 38.6% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 784,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $56,921,000 after buying an additional 218,420 shares during the period. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc NYSE: IFF is a global leader in the creation and production of flavors, fragrances, cosmetic actives and nutritional lipids. The company develops taste and scent solutions for a wide array of end markets including food and beverage, personal care, household goods and pharmaceutical products. Its portfolio spans natural and nature-identical flavors, fine fragrances, functional ingredients for skin and hair care, and specialty oils that enhance nutritional value and sensory appeal.

IFF's research and development network comprises innovation centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where multidisciplinary teams collaborate on aroma chemistry, sensory science and biotechnology.

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