ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New Investment in Sensient Technologies Corporation $SXT

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 686,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,657,000 after acquiring an additional 15,181 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 57.1% during the first quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 549,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,924,000 after purchasing an additional 199,827 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $24,434,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Sensient Technologies by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 315,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $23,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG grew its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 235,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,519,000 after buying an additional 77,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 3.5%

SXT opened at $95.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 4.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Sensient Technologies Corporation has a twelve month low of $66.14 and a twelve month high of $121.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.53.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.06. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The firm had revenue of $414.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sensient Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.130-3.230 EPS. Analysts predict that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SXT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sensient Technologies in a report on Saturday, September 27th. CJS Securities began coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.00.

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.