International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Price Target Lowered to $75.00 at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS lowered its price target on International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) from $85 to $75 and kept a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 2.54% upside from the prior close.
• Broader analyst coverage remains mostly positive—13 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell—with an average price target of $89.28 and several firms recently raising targets into the mid-$90s and $100s.
• Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 142,000 shares at about $70.13 (~$9.96M), increasing his stake and signaling significant insider confidence in the stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at UBS Group from $85.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.54% from the stock's previous close.

IFF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $97.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.28.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 0.9%

IFF traded down $0.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $73.14. 1,386,137 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,793,283. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.85. International Flavors & Fragrances has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $84.45. The stock has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.02.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.67% and a negative net margin of 3.20%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 142,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.13 per share, for a total transaction of $9,958,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,422,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $169,906,054.90. The trade was a 6.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IFF. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,315 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,042,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 15.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,976 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 71.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company's stock.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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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