Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average After Analyst Downgrade

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $101.33 and traded as high as $120.26. Sensient Technologies shares last traded at $118.7720, with a volume of 661,452 shares.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SXT. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sensient Technologies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sensient Technologies from $115.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sensient Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sensient Technologies

In other news, VP Thierry Hoang sold 439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.15, for a total transaction of $50,111.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,633,372.35. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensient Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SXT. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the first quarter valued at $1,297,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,398 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 3,410 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 43,777 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,784,000 after acquiring an additional 9,146 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 5,369 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Sensient Technologies by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 33,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615 shares during the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.53. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 5.01, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $435.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $411.39 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 13.12%. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sensient Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.700-3.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.38%.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.