International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $86.45, but opened at $80.99. International Flavors & Fragrances shares last traded at $83.68, with a volume of 255,624 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $113.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $111.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $117.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Flavors & Fragrances currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.77.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Down 4.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.73.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.14. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.16% and a negative net margin of 20.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pictet North America Advisors SA raised its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.1% during the third quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 3,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 3.1% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.2% during the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,061 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.02% of the company’s stock.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division.