International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Short Interest Up 7.8% in November

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the November 15th total of 4,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IFF shares. Vertical Research raised International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.3 %

IFF traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.86. 722,233 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,654,132. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52 week low of $72.94 and a 52 week high of $106.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.17.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This trade represents a 60.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.