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

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of 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 shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Yuvraj Arora sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

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

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $91.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,371,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,672,509. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.17. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 52-week low of $72.94 and a 52-week high of $106.77. The company has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.05, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.46). The firm 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 7.16% and a negative net margin of 20.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -17.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on International Flavors & Fragrances from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho raised shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of International Flavors & Fragrances from $93.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.00.

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.