International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Stock Price Down 9.2% After Earnings Miss

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) dropped 9.2% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $89.11 and last traded at $90.01. Approximately 1,145,528 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 1,643,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.10.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 20.82% and a positive return on equity of 6.63%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on IFF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Vertical Research raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.27.

Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.8% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 21,066 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at about $277,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 12,638.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 29,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 28,941 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 757,899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $79,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 3.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.04. The company has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of -9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.22.

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.