Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $139.67.

Several research firms have recently commented on SXT. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Sensient Technologies from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Sensient Technologies from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Sensient Technologies in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Institutional Trading of Sensient Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sensient Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sensient Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 90.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Trading Down 0.9%

SXT opened at $117.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.97 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.83. Sensient Technologies has a one year low of $82.60 and a one year high of $138.82.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $455.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Sensient Technologies will post 4.20 EPS for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

About Sensient Technologies

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.