Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $95.01 and last traded at $94.9160, with a volume of 2190 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $93.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IOSP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Innospec in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Innospec from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Innospec from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Innospec Trading Up 0.9%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $491.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.25 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 6.60%.Innospec’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Innospec by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 8,176.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 170,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,147,000 after buying an additional 168,355 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Innospec by 37.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Innospec by 6.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 132,399 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,545,000 after buying an additional 8,014 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Innospec

Innospec Incorporated (NASDAQ: IOSP) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates through three principal business segments: Fuel Specialties, Oilfield Services, and Performance Chemicals. In the Fuel Specialties segment, Innospec develops and supplies additives designed to enhance octane levels, improve combustion efficiency, reduce emissions and prevent deposit formation in gasoline and diesel engines. Its Oilfield Services division provides chemical technologies—such as surfactants, corrosion inhibitors and demulsifiers—to support exploration, drilling, production optimization and enhanced oil recovery operations.