UBS Group Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Ingredion (NYSE:INGR)

UBS Group reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. UBS Group currently has a $145.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $165.00.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on INGR. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ingredion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens cut their target price on Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ingredion currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $152.60.

Ingredion Stock Performance

NYSE:INGR traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $129.88. The stock had a trading volume of 490,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,258. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.02. Ingredion has a twelve month low of $109.51 and a twelve month high of $155.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.72.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.09. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Ingredion's revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ingredion will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Ingredion's payout ratio is currently 32.96%.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In other Ingredion news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $1,361,392.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,295,906.76. This represents a 24.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ingredion

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Ingredion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 653.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 226 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ingredion by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is 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.