International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Stock Price Down 9.2% Following Weak Earnings

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

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 6.63% and a negative net margin of 20.82%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IFF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on 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 upgraded 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 research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in International Flavors & Fragrances by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,247 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter worth about $1,115,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,453 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 3.9 %

The company has a market cap 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.40 and a 200 day moving average of $98.04.

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.