International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.35.

A number of research firms have commented on IFF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IFF. Fairfield Bush & CO. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in International Flavors & Fragrances by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.4 %

IFF opened at $83.97 on Friday. International Flavors & Fragrances has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $97.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.36. The company has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of -8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.23.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.36% and a positive return on equity of 5.09%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -15.94%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.