Goldman Sachs Initiates Coverage On International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF)

Goldman Sachs is initiating coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF with a Neutral rating and a $57 price target on shares. In a note to clients, Goldman writes, "We initiate coverage on IFF with a Neutral rating and see 10% upside to our $57, 12-month price target. On the plus side, IFF has posted robust growth in 2010 and is making strategic changes to re-allocate more resources to growth areas like emerging markets. We also expect the strategic review to result in a doubling in cash back to shareholders in 2011. This said, we stay on the sidelines due to modest risk to consensus sales and EPS forecasts. Sales growth could be sub-par at 1-2% in 2011 as IFF hurdles inventory re-stocking from 2010. We also see limits on margin potential due to rising input costs and the fragmented industry structure." Shares of IFF lost 89 cents on Friday to close at $52.46, a loss of 1.67%.