Sensient Technologies Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 (NYSE:SXT)

Sensient Technologies Co. (NYSE:SXT) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of 0.41 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th.

Sensient Technologies has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.7% annually over the last three years. Sensient Technologies has a payout ratio of 48.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Sensient Technologies Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE SXT traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $77.64. 54,413 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,397. Sensient Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $55.02 and a fifty-two week high of $82.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.25. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 4.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $392.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.64 million. Sensient Technologies had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 5.83%. Sensient Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sensient Technologies will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gebhardt Deborah Mckeithan sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.08, for a total transaction of $142,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,077,714.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SXT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Sensient Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sensient Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

About Sensient Technologies

Sensient Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and Africa. The company offers flavor-delivery systems, and compounded and blended products; ingredient products, such as essential oils, natural and synthetic flavors, and natural extracts; and chili powder, paprika, and chili pepper, as well as dehydrated vegetables comprising parsley, celery, and spinach to the food, beverage, and personal care industries.