Analysts Set Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) PT at $158.20

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $158.20.

Several research firms recently issued reports on INGR. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stephens reduced their price target on Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $1,361,392.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 34,127 shares in the company, valued at $4,295,906.76. This represents a 24.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ingredion in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ingredion in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ingredion by 653.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ingredion during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ingredion in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Ingredion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE INGR opened at $130.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Ingredion has a 1-year low of $109.51 and a 1-year high of $155.44. The company has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.83 and a 200-day moving average of $136.59.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 18.62%. Ingredion’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ingredion will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.96%.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.