Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) Short Interest Down 6.9% in September

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 884,100 shares, a decrease of 6.9% from the August 31st total of 949,700 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 364,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Ingredion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE INGR traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.01. 183,165 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 380,882. The company’s 50 day moving average is $130.92 and its 200 day moving average is $120.99. Ingredion has a one year low of $89.54 and a one year high of $138.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.73.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.34. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. The business’s revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ingredion will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Ingredion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from Ingredion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ingredion

In related news, SVP Robert A. Ritchie sold 1,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $149,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,988,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert A. Ritchie sold 1,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $149,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,988,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James P. Zallie sold 22,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.14, for a total transaction of $3,024,857.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,046,374.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,045 shares of company stock valued at $3,482,491. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ingredion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of INGR. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ingredion during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ingredion by 102.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ingredion in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Ingredion during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on INGR. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ingredion from $126.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ingredion from $141.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised shares of Ingredion from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ingredion from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.33.

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.