International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $91.98 and last traded at $91.7520, with a volume of 50,344 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $101.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.22.

International Flavors & Fragrances Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.37. The company has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.24, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.91.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). International Flavors & Fragrances had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.11%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.79%.

International Flavors & Fragrances announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 12.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Marc Birenkrant sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,910. This represents a 22.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $475,680.42. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 in the last three months. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IFF. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 208,502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,406,000 after buying an additional 4,890 shares during the period. Curated Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at $258,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,444,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $120,590,000 after acquiring an additional 6,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 341,237 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,486,000 after acquiring an additional 20,486 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients, flavor systems, fragrances and specialty solutions used in consumer and industrial products. Its offerings support food and beverage manufacturers, fragrance and personal care companies, household-product makers, pharmaceutical businesses and other customers.

The company’s portfolio includes flavors for beverages, dairy products, sweet goods, savory foods and other applications; fragrances for fine fragrance, personal care and home care products; and functional ingredients, enzymes, cultures, natural extracts and other specialty materials.