Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ingredion from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.17.

Ingredion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE INGR traded up $2.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $123.80. 312,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 390,707. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.87. Ingredion has a 52-week low of $89.54 and a 52-week high of $124.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 8.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ingredion will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.11, for a total value of $282,171.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,085.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ingredion news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.36, for a total transaction of $3,199,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 52,197 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,642.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.11, for a total transaction of $282,171.59. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,085.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,359 shares of company stock valued at $4,515,644 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingredion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of INGR. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Ingredion during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ingredion in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ingredion by 102.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Ingredion during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ingredion during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.