Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) Short Interest Update

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 518,400 shares, a decrease of 7.2% from the November 15th total of 558,900 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 416,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens raised Ingredion to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ingredion from $147.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ingredion from $128.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.17.

Ingredion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE INGR traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.25. The stock had a trading volume of 71,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,674. The company has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.74. Ingredion has a 12-month low of $105.78 and a 12-month high of $155.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.76 and a 200-day moving average of $130.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.58 by $0.47. Ingredion had a return on equity of 17.75% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ingredion will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James D. Gray sold 54,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.76, for a total value of $8,052,574.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,877,794.20. This trade represents a 81.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 4,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.41, for a total transaction of $721,027.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,454,105.94. This represents a 13.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,198 shares of company stock worth $9,702,461 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingredion

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ingredion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Ingredion during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ingredion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ingredion during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Company Profile

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.