Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, June 12, 2020

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC., $126.85, New York symbol IFF, is still a buy for investors. The company makes over 90,000 compounds that improve the taste of food and the smell of consumer products. The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt demand from small- and mid-sized customers that operate in the restaurant and retail industries. They represent about 15% of total sales. In the first eight weeks of the 2020 second quarter, sales to those customers fell 40% (excluding exchange rates) from a year earlier. However, sales to customers that make packaged foods, beverages and hygiene products (85%) improved 3%. On an overall basis, sales declined 3%. The decrease, combined with higher manufacturing costs as a result of COVID-19, cut IFF’s gross profits by 12%. It’s likely that the company’s sales and earnings will improve over the next few months as more countries reopen their economies. IFF shareholders should also benefit from its upcoming purchase of the nutrition division of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (New York symbol…