Short Interest in International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) Rises By 10.5%

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, a growth of 10.5% from the October 31st total of 3,620,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.75, for a total transaction of $458,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,086.50. This represents a 60.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in International Flavors & Fragrances in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IFF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 1.2 %

IFF stock opened at $90.16 on Wednesday. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52-week low of $72.94 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.92, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.05.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 20.33% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.60%.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

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.