Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF)

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 21,766 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,617% compared to the typical volume of 801 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IFF. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded International Flavors & Fragrances from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $107.00 to $103.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.87.

International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.2 %

International Flavors & Fragrances stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $103.67. 167,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,728,135. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.28. The company has a market cap of $26.47 billion, a PE ratio of -10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 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. International Flavors & Fragrances has a fifty-two week low of $62.28 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 6.63% and a negative net margin of 20.82%. International Flavors & Fragrances’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. International Flavors & Fragrances’s payout ratio is -16.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Flavors & Fragrances

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 183.2% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 96.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.