Short Interest in Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) Expands By 14.7%

Sensient Technologies Corporation (NYSE:SXT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,233,008 shares, a growth of 14.7% from the February 12th total of 1,074,858 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 365,786 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 365,786 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SXT. Zacks Research downgraded Sensient Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sensient Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sensient Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.00.

Sensient Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SXT traded down $1.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.26. The company had a trading volume of 64,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,507. Sensient Technologies has a 12 month low of $67.79 and a 12 month high of $121.54. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.06). Sensient Technologies had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $393.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sensient Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-3.800 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Sensient Technologies will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sensient Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Sensient Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensient Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SXT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sensient Technologies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,930,000 after acquiring an additional 4,123 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $99,117,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Sensient Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,280,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 734,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,013,000 after purchasing an additional 17,935 shares during the period. Finally, Snyder Capital Management L P grew its stake in shares of Sensient Technologies by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 695,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,311,000 after purchasing an additional 29,707 shares during the period. 90.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sensient Technologies Company Profile

Sensient Technologies Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of colors, flavors and fragrances for a broad range of end-markets. The company develops and produces ingredients that enhance the appearance, taste and scent of products in the food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, personal care and household sectors. Its portfolio includes natural and synthetic colorants, botanical and artificial flavor systems, fragrance compounds and specialty chemical offerings tailored to customer specifications.

Within its flavor and fragrance division, Sensient provides custom formulations for sweet, savory and umami taste profiles along with fragrance blends for personal care and cosmetic applications.