Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $109.09 and last traded at $108.14, with a volume of 489913 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SXT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CJS Securities initiated coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd.

Sensient Technologies Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $96.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.99 and a beta of 0.56.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $392.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.19% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Sensient Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.30%.

Insider Activity at Sensient Technologies

In other news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total transaction of $159,210.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $758,445.70. This trade represents a 17.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SXT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 18,766.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,830,000 after purchasing an additional 10,884 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,143,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,483,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 136.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

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.