Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $98.50 and last traded at $98.34, with a volume of 365614 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $95.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Sensient Technologies from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, CJS Securities started coverage on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock.

Sensient Technologies Stock Up 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56 and a beta of 0.56.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $392.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $387.70 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Sensient Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.30%.

Insider Activity at Sensient Technologies

In other Sensient Technologies news, Director Mario Ferruzzi sold 1,668 shares of Sensient Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.45, for a total transaction of $159,210.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $758,445.70. This trade represents a 17.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sensient Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 55,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,624 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sensient Technologies by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 185,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,218,000 after purchasing an additional 7,148 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,385,000 after acquiring an additional 6,984 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,002 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,418,000 after acquiring an additional 3,359 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Sensient Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $556,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.86% of the company’s stock.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and Africa. The company offers flavor-delivery systems, and compounded and blended products; ingredient products, such as essential oils, natural and synthetic flavors, and natural extracts; and chili powder, paprika, and chili pepper, as well as dehydrated vegetables comprising parsley, celery, and spinach to the food, beverage, and personal care industries.