Short Interest in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) Grows By 33.8%

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, an increase of 33.8% from the January 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 533,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Ingredion Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ingredion stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.44. The stock had a trading volume of 153,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,067. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.74. Ingredion has a 52 week low of $109.51 and a 52 week high of $155.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.62.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 18.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ingredion will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on INGR. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ingredion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,906.76. This trade represents a 24.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingredion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in INGR. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in Ingredion in the third quarter valued at $217,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Ingredion by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 3,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Ingredion by 2.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Ingredion by 216.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 769 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Ingredion by 9.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 2,257 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by 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.