Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company reduced the price target for International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $85.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock, which suggests a potential upside of 31.75% from its current price.
• Multiple analysts, including Stifel Nicolaus and Tigress Financial, have adjusted their price targets for the stock, with Stifel cutting theirs to $91.00 and Tigress initiating coverage with a target of $105.00.
• International Flavors & Fragrances reported earnings of $1.15 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations but showing a 4.3% decrease in year-over-year revenue.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would indicate a potential upside of 33.65% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on IFF. Barclays upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $105.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.36.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $63.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,912,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,972. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.33. International Flavors & Fragrances has a one year low of $63.50 and a one year high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IFF. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11,975.0% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 587 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 633 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 193 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.