International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Price Target Cut to $100.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) had its price target cut by research analysts at Citigroup from $101.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.88% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $93.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.69.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of IFF stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $84.12. 1,172,655 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,805,083. International Flavors & Fragrances has a fifty-two week low of $59.14 and a fifty-two week high of $89.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.39 and its 200-day moving average is $78.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.91.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.25). International Flavors & Fragrances had a return on equity of 7.11% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 4th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 12.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at International Flavors & Fragrances

In related news, insider De Mendonca Ana Paula Teles sold 5,718 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total transaction of $475,680.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Deveau sold 8,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.55, for a total transaction of $754,978.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $444,774.45. The trade was a 62.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,543 shares of company stock worth $1,315,659 over the last 90 days. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IFF. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at $1,835,955,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth about $223,065,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,760,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter valued at about $122,792,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter worth about $107,310,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) develops and manufactures ingredients and solutions used in food, beverages, personal care products, fragrances, household products, pharmaceuticals and other consumer goods. The company works with manufacturers to create flavors, fragrances, functional ingredients and sensory experiences for products sold under consumer brands.

IFF’s portfolio includes natural and synthetic flavor compounds, fragrance ingredients, specialty ingredients, food texturants, enzymes, cultures, probiotics and pharmaceutical excipients.