Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

SXT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Sensient Technologies from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Sensient Technologies from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.67.

Sensient Technologies Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE SXT opened at $118.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 0.84. Sensient Technologies has a one year low of $82.60 and a one year high of $138.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $131.27 and its 200-day moving average is $113.72.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $455.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.05 million. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sensient Technologies will post 4.20 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.48, for a total transaction of $155,376.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $951,936.96. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $1,229,000. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 6.4% in the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 9,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global manufacturer of colors, flavors and extracts used in food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other consumer and industrial products. The company develops customized ingredient solutions designed to improve the appearance, taste, aroma and overall sensory qualities of finished products.

Sensient’s product portfolio includes natural and synthetic food colors, coloring systems, flavor compounds, botanical extracts and other specialty ingredients.