Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $120.54, but opened at $112.00. Sensient Technologies shares last traded at $111.8260, with a volume of 258,486 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SXT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Sensient Technologies from $115.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Sensient Technologies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Sensient Technologies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sensient Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.00.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 4.4%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.97. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 5.01, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.24. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 8.71%.The company had revenue of $435.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $411.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sensient Technologies’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sensient Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.700-3.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensient Technologies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sensient Technologies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $94,930,000 after buying an additional 4,123 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $77,955,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 734,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,013,000 after purchasing an additional 17,935 shares in the last quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 695,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,311,000 after purchasing an additional 29,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Sensient Technologies by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 548,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,516,000 after purchasing an additional 21,217 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sensient Technologies

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.