Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) Stock Rating Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

INGR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ingredion from $108.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ingredion from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $118.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Ingredion from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Ingredion Stock Performance

INGR opened at $92.00 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.04. Ingredion has a 1-year low of $90.14 and a 1-year high of $123.49.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.59 by ($0.31). The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 14.36% and a net margin of 7.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ingredion will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Ingredion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ingredion during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ingredion during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

About Ingredion

Ingredion Incorporated is a global ingredient solutions company that transforms corn, tapioca, potato and other plant-based materials into ingredients used by manufacturers. Its products include starches, sweeteners, glucose syrups, dextrose, maltodextrins, plant proteins and texturizers. The company’s ingredients are used in food and beverages, as well as in applications such as animal nutrition, brewing, pharmaceuticals, paper and packaging. Ingredion works with customers to develop ingredients and formulations that support product texture, taste, nutrition and performance.