Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Sensient Technologies shares reached a new 52-week high of $115.40 during trading, closing at $113.69 with a volume of 25,340 shares.
• Analysts have raised their price target for the company, with Robert W. Baird increasing it from $93.00 to $125.00 and maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.94 for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and achieving a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.7%.

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $115.40 and last traded at $113.69, with a volume of 25340 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Sensient Technologies from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. CJS Securities assumed coverage on Sensient Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 4.25, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.09.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $414.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.60 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 8.56%. Sensient Technologies's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total value of $159,210.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,946 shares in the company, valued at $758,445.70. This represents a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sensient Technologies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 435 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 220,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,442,000 after buying an additional 5,011 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 55,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,954,000 after buying an additional 6,624 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sensient Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 185,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $13,218,000 after buying an additional 7,148 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sensient Technologies

Sensient Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and Africa. The company offers flavor-delivery systems, and compounded and blended products; ingredient products, such as essential oils, natural and synthetic flavors, and natural extracts; and chili powder, paprika, and chili pepper, as well as dehydrated vegetables comprising parsley, celery, and spinach to the food, beverage, and personal care industries.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.