Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) Price Target Raised to $147.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) had its price objective lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $128.00 to $147.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ingredion from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $147.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.00.

Ingredion Price Performance

Shares of INGR stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $151.32. The company had a trading volume of 93,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,395. Ingredion has a 12-month low of $100.01 and a 12-month high of $155.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.54 and a 200-day moving average of $124.93. The company has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.73.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 17.18%. Ingredion’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ingredion will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Ingredion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Ingredion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ingredion’s payout ratio is presently 32.72%.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In other news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.58, for a total transaction of $49,558.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,967,399.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ingredion news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.58, for a total transaction of $49,558.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,967,399.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James P. Zallie sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.02, for a total transaction of $134,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,530 shares in the company, valued at $7,040,070.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,356 shares of company stock worth $3,400,709 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingredion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Ingredion in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ingredion by 102.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ingredion in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ingredion

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.